Alive Again
by RebecaV
Summary: When the once ruthless Captain Hook now cursed to shy waiter meets Emma Swan, his life is turned completely around as love, magic, and jealousy begin to play a strong role in his life again.
1. 1x01

Title: Alive Again

Author: RebecaV

Style: Serial (if the series goes as I've planned it out, there will be 30 chapters)

Timeframe: Season 1 - Season 3.

Disclaimer: I don't own the show. I don't own the characters. I only own the laptop I used to write this on.

A/N: This came to mind right after I watched the season 4 finale. I've seen a lot of cursed Killian alternate universe, but where he's a lot like the Villainous Hook we met in season 2. I decided to put my own spin to it and make it more like shy deckhand Hook, but throw him into the world of Storybrooke. Basically I'm rewriting season 1 as if he had been there all along.

Summary: When the once ruthless Captain Hook now cursed to shy waiter meets Emma Swan, his life is turned completely around as love, jealousy, and magic begin to play a strong role in his life again.

* * *

 **Chapter One**

* * *

1x01 "Pilot"

Two more hours, he thought to himself as he looked at the clock nailed to the back wall of Granny's Diner.

8:01 it now read.

One hour and fifty-nine minutes to go. This was what his life had come to. For as long as he could remember he came to work and as soon as things calmed down, he would stare at the clock and count the minutes until his shift was over and he could go home and do nothing.

Killian Jones was bored with his life. It was always work then going home then back to work in the morning. His life had become one small boring routine. He hungered for adventure. He wanted something new, something to make him feel alive again.

The front door of the diner opened. He didn't recognize the woman coming in which told him one very important thing; she was the woman the whole town was talking about.

She was beautiful. Blonde curled hair just past her shoulders. Green eyes that even across the room he felt were pulling at his soul. Her red leather jacket fit her in all the right places to compliment her amazing body.

"Are you closing soon?" she asked.

Snapped out of his impure thoughts, Killian hoped she did not notice him checking her out. Unable to form any coherent sentences to the beautiful woman, he simply shook his head in order to tell her no.

She looked around at the empty place. "This town is weird," she said quietly to herself but it was loud enough for his ears to hear.

He dug around to find the menus that they never even used. Anyone and everyone who came into Granny's knew exactly what they wanted or at least what was on the menu. There had never been a need for them until now.

"Here's your menu, Miss Swan," he said as he set it down on her table with his good hand.

Her head spins up. "How do you know my name?" she asked him curiously.

He laughs nervously. "Leroy is the town gossip," he said.

"Who the hell is Leroy?" she asked.

"The drunk man you woke next to, love," he said.

"What?" she asked with wide eyes and a shocked expression all over her face.

He didn't know what had come over him. He was never this forward delivering sexual innuendo especially to a woman he hadn't even known two minutes. He avoided all eye contact with her as he said his next words. "Your jail mate."

"Oh," she said. She looked down at the menu in front of her.

"I'll leave you to it," he said. He went back to his spot behind the counter embarrassed with himself. He didn't know what it was about this woman that brought out this different side of him.

He tried to his best not to stare at her. Being that it was only the two of them, she would notice him staring. So, he pretended to arrange silverware behind the counter sneaking a glance in her direction every once and a while.

"See something you want?" he called from his spot after a few minutes had passed. He didn't trust himself to be right next to her. So, he would talk to her from a distance as long as he could.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

Once again, he realized that his words had been forward. "The... the food. Did you see anything you wanted on the menu?" he asked.

"Oh," she said in between nervous laughter.

Perhaps it hadn't been his forward words, but her own dirty mind at work here.

"I haven't eaten in almost 24 hours. I think I could order the whole menu," she said clearly joking.

He played along. "I think it might take me some time being that I'm the only cook here and I only have one hand, but I'll see what I can do."

At the mention of him only having one hand, her face softened making him wonder if she had taken notice of his brace earlier.

"I think I'll settle for one thing," she said. She set the menu back down on the table and looked up at him with her arms crossed in front of her. "Recommend anything?"

"Is Grilled Cheese okay?" he asked.

"I'll give it a try," she said.

"Okay," he said with a huge smile on his face. She trusted him enough to let his first answer be her choice.

He went to the back of the diner to get started on her order. Like most nights he was there by himself, it took him longer than normal to fix up her meal. In a way, he supposed he was lucky Granny still let him work there.

Maybe she pities you, he thought to himself.

"I'm sorry that took so long," he said once he was done and set her plate down on her table.

"It's fine," she said. She very quickly looked at his the spot where his hand should have been. She didn't ask about it, but she was obviously curious about it.

"I apologize for calling you 'love,' Miss Swan. I don't know what came over me," he said. Several things had come over him since he met her just a few minutes ago, but he wasn't planning on listing all of them to her.

"Anyone ever tell you that you apologize a lot?" Emma asked.

"Sorry," he said. Once he realized he had apologized yet again. He scratched behind his ear nervously. "Habits."

"I forgive you for calling me love," she said. She took a bite out of one of the onion rings he had brought her. Normally she liked fries better, but she didn't want to give him another reason to apologize. Besides the mixture was surprsingly tasty. "Honestly, I just thought it was an English thing."

"Come across many English men?"

"You and the sheriff."

"That would be Graham," he said. He tried his best to hide any jealousy in his voice. "I'll let you eat in peace. I'll be right over there if you need anything."

She ate quickly practically scarfing down her sandwich. "So, where can I get a place to sleep around here?" she asked a few minutes later.

A blush fell on his cheeks at the thought of inviting her back to his apartment. "Granny's Bed and Breakfast is just down the road."

"What's the deal with Granny's? Granny's Diner. Granny's Bed and Breakfast. Is it a brand name in Maine?"

"You best probably ask Granny if she plans to branch out," Killian said.

"Granny... is a real person?" she asked.

"Yes," he said almost making it sound like a question. He did not understand why she thought it was strange.

"This town is weird," Emma said. She pulled a twenty from her pants.

Killian shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he said.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you sure?" she asked not completely understanding his niceness.

He pretended to look down at something. "We're over charging you anyway," he said.

"Not sure Granny would appreciate you saying that."

"She knows," he said. He smiled at his own words. "She also knows that Storybrooke is rather limited when it comes to places to eat. You'll soon learn that as well."

"I'm only staying a week," Emma said.

He was disappointed to hear it, but he tried his best not to display it on his face. "You'll still see," he said.

With a smile on her face, she stood up from her seat and walked over to the counter. "Goodnight... I didn't get your name."

"Killian. Killian Jones."

"Emma Swan," she said. She extended her hand out towards him. "But you already knew that."

"See you tomorrow morning, Miss Swan," he said.

She looked confused for a whole two seconds before realizing he meant that she'd probably end up coming back soon. "Goodnight, Killian."

He watched her leave with two thoughts on his mind; One, Emma Swan was something else. Two, Emma Swan made him feel alive again.

* * *

TBC


	2. 1x02 - 1x03

Thank you for all the reviews/favorites/followers so far!

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

* * *

1x02 "The Thing You Love Most"

He had kept true to his word when he had told her he would see her the next morning. Sure enough she was there with the late breakfast crowd.

"Hello, Killian," she said giving him a smile that made him too nervous for words.

So, he chuckled quietly to himself. Once he saw that she was sitting at the counter, he realized that she would have a front row seat if he became a nervous wreck. So, he composed himself enough to walk over and hand her a menu. "Told you you wouldn't find a better place to eat," he said.

"I didn't look," she said not willing to admit that he was right just yet.

"Right," he said giving her a half smile. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a newspaper left behind by a pervious customer. Even upside down he noticed that it was her mugshot on the front page.

Her eyes followed his. "Great," she said. She picked up the newspaper. "Please tell me no one reads the newspaper around here."

'Stranger Destroys Historic Sign' is what it read.

He didn't want to lie to her so he chose not to answer her. "I should go get the drinks for the Morrison family," he said.

In his quick absence, Emma had move from the counter to standing over one of the booths that Graham just so happen to be sitting at. He was smiling and shaking his head at her.

"What's going on over there?" he asked Ruby as he made his way behind the counter.

"Henry set her a drink. She thought it was Graham," Ruby said.

As if she had been listening to their conversation, Emma's head lifts to look at Henry in the corner.

"Don't you have school?" Emma asked Henry.

"Duh. I'm 10. Walk me," Henry said as he threw his backpack over his shoulder.

They both left without eating or without any further goodbye to anyone else in the diner.

"She wanted the drink to be from Graham, didn't she?"

"Can you blame her? I mean, look at him," Ruby said.

He looked over at the sheriff. "I suppose to some women he might be dashing, but personally, I don't see it," Killian said.

"Are you k-. Oh I get it, you're jealous. You like Emma!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Would you keep your voice down?" He quickly calms her down before she gains attention of half the people eating. "I don't like her."

"Yeah, sure," Ruby said unconvinced.

"Quiet yourself and get back to work."

cs

The next time he saw her, she was with the same person she had left with. She might have a flirtatious going on with the sheriff of the town, but her priority was definitely Henry.

"You're still here?" she asked as she and her son slide onto the seats at the counter. "Don't you even get time off?"

"It would appear not. Not much to do except sleep during my time off." Killian said. He goes to grab the menus, but Emma stops him before he can.

"We're just getting hot chocolate before I take him home," Emma said. She gave Henry a sideways look. She was telling the young boy more than she was telling Killian.

"Fine," Henry said in between his teeth.

"Coming right up," Killian said.

It wasn't quite as busy as it had been this morning, but there were enough people to keep him occupied. This night he wasn't able to sit around and talk to this mysterious Emma Swan because before he knew it, she was gone. She left more than enough money for their two hot chocolates and for her meal the other night.

"You are quite a puzzle, Swan."

* * *

1x03 "Snow Falls"

"Where were you yesterday?" Emma asked when Killian came to her table with a menu in his hand. She handed it right back to him. She'd only been in this town a few days and already had the entire menu memorized.

"I took the day off," he said.

"I thought you said there wasn't anything to do on your days off."

"I said there was one thing," he said.

"What's that?"

"Sleep."

She laughed remembering that he had mentioned sleep the other night that she came by with Henry after therapy. "Ruby doesn't know my order yet. She gave me fries with my grill cheese sandwich."

He laughed. "Grill cheese and onion rings coming right up."

"Actually, I'm meeting Henry and Mary Margret. So, breakfast will have to do," she said.

"Pancakes?" he asked.

She nodded. "With eggs. Over easy."

"I'll get your order right in," he said. He didn't have to worry about her food being cold because luckily there was a cook in the back. Mornings tended to be crazy packed, but at least he never had to cook during this time.

Just a few minutes later, Henry came running inside almost knocking down Ruby on his way to his birth mother.

"Whoa, kid. What's the rush?" Emma asked.

"Operation Cobra," Henry said.

Killian was curious what the young boy meant, but since he wasn't a part of the conversation, he did not ask. He didn't want them knowing he was being nosy. When it came to Emma, he clung on to every word.

Henry offered her a shirt. "What's this?" she asked.

"I got you a shirt," he said.

"I don't need a -."

"Take it. Or you could stay in that dirty tank top."

"Fine," she said. She took the shirt from his hand and marched to the back towards the restrooms.

"What can I get for you, Henry?"

"The usual."

Killian was forced to shift his attention to a family with high demands, but every couple of minutes, he would look in her direction. Mary Margret was sitting with them now. Emma didn't seem pleased with whatever she was saying.

The next time he looked, they were gone with money left out on the table for their food that was left half eaten.

cs

Thanks to Ruby, Killian was stuck with the late shift again. While she out on a date, with possibly a new boy toy, he was staring at the wall in a room all by himself.

That was until Emma walked in. She practically fell on the chair closest to the door. "Ugh!" she said loudly to the empty room.

"Long day?" he asked. He walked over to her table.

"That's an understatement," Emma said. She pulled out a chair for him to sit in.

He allowed himself to get excited. If she had come here for food, she would have asked for it already. She had come here looking for him. She wanted to talk to him.

His excitement turned to nervousness. He sat down in the chair next to her. "I heard you got a guy out of a coma," he said.

"How did you kn-?" she asked. His shy smile told her what she needed to know. "Right, small town."

"So, how did you get the guy out of the coma?"

"I wouldn't put it that way."

"What way would you put it?"

"Mary Margret read to him."

"Her voice magically woke him up?" he asked.

For some reason, her eyes grew twice their size when he said that. "Magically? Have you been speaking to Henry?"

It was his turn to be confused. "No," he said, but it came out sounding more like a question.

She looked down, shook her head, and laughed. "Never mind."

"At least this story had a happy ending."

"And a long lost wife to add along to it."

"A wife? Wouldn't she have known her husband was in the coma this whole time?" he asked unknowing that he was questioning the same thing she had.

"It's complicated I guess," Emma said. She looks outside to her bug. She didn't want anyone catching her sleeping in her car again. So, she'd have to find a quiet street where she wasn't going to be a bother or be bothered. "I should get going."

He caught her looking at her car. "Granny really does feel bad about having to kick you out of her Inn," he said.

"I'm sure she does," Emma said. She traced along the edge of the table.

He knew she had more on her mind. "What is it?"

She looked at him curiously. How did he know something was bothering her? How could he read her that well? They'd only just met.

"Mary Margret offered me a room in her loft," she said.

"You're thinking about taking it?" he asked. She shrugged her shoulders trying to play it off as a simple thing, but he knew since she was here talking to him about it rather than letting it go, it was something she was considering. "You're staying then?"

"I am...for Henry," she said.

"But you're hesitant about staying with a friend. Why?" he asked. She looked down thinking about his question. He was starting to worry if he had pushed too far. Maybe he just go back behind his counter and stop trying to get to know her. Asking questions was only going to force her away.

"I don't like owing people anything," Emma said. She avoided eye contact with him. "I've seen too much to believe people are good for no reason. People always want something."

Killian finally had an answer to one of his Emma questions. The reason she had left extra money the other to pay for her meal that first night they met was because she didn't like owing people. She didn't want to feel obligated with him. Maybe she thought he was trying to flirt with her. Maybe she thought if she accepted the free meal that he was expecting something more from her.

He had to set the record straight.

"Is that what you thought the other night, that I was going to expect more from you because I gave you food? Emma, I did me-."

She didn't let him finish. "I know you aren't the kind of person I grew up with," she said. She took in a deep breath. "I grew up in the foster system. Most of the foster parents I had only saw me as a paycheck at the end of the month and the other kids just saw me as someone to pick on."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said.

Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head in disbelief that she just told someone she only knew for a couple of days something that meant a lot to her. "Whoa. I didn't mean to -. I don't usually tell people that. There's just something about you. One look at you and I could tell that you were a good guy, that I could trust you."

"Maybe we've met in another life," Killian said.

"That sounds like something Henry would say," Emma said. It made her wonder if maybe her son had let the man in on Operation Cobra without telling her.

A pregnant pause filled the air. Each of them contemplating what they were going to say next.

"I think I'm going to take Mary Margret's offer."

He nodded along to let her know he agreed with her decision. "Would you like me to make you something to go?" Killian asked.

"Sure, but I'm paying," Emma said. He stood up narrowing his eyes at her. "Baby steps!"

"Fine," he said. He heard her footsteps trailing behind him as he made his way to the kitchen.

"There's no one else here. You should be thankful for my services," she said teasingly. She stood at the counter watching him make the food. "Why is this place so dry at night anyway?"

"I guess some people still like to have dinner with their families."

"What about you? Do you have family?"

"No," he said simply. His own memories were hazy. "I've been on my own for as long as I could remember."

She didn't push further and for that he was thankful. Instead they both stayed silent as he made her a grilled cheese sandwich and Mary Margret's favorite. He made the mistake of looking up at her. She was smiling at him in a way that he couldn't recall anyone ever smiling at him before.

It was that smile that turned him back into a timid waiter.

He had been completely fine when it came to having a conversation with her just minutes ago. He had no idea why he was feeling like he couldn't even look at her again without falling apart. How did she do this to him?

"Here you go," he said handing her the food wrapped in a brown paper bag.

She slid the money to him across the counter. "Thanks," she said.

He didn't trust himself around her anymore. Being a composed man around her had it's limit. He had passed his today. He wouldn't take anymore chances. "Goodnight, Emma Swan," he said taking the money.

"See you in the morning, Killian Jones."

* * *

TBC


	3. 1x04 - 1x06

Emma and Killian are bonding a lot. She's sharing with him. I don't know if that's actually something Emma would have done in season one, but for the purpose of this story, I needed them to have a strong friendship right away.

Also there might be a lot of mistakes in this chapter. I didn't edit it like I do my other ones. I was planning on doing that today before the show, but some things happened and I didn't get to. Now I just want to put it online. I apologize in advance.

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

* * *

1x04 "The Price of Gold"

He hadn't been paying attention. If he had, he would have spotted Emma sooner. He would have attended her. She would have talked to him, tell him how things went with Mary Margret the previous night.

Lately he found himself really looking forward to his talks with her. They never lasted longer than fifteen minutes, but those fifteen minutes were heavenly. Those short moments would carry him through the day.

He wasn't going to get that moment this morning. By the time he had seen her, Ruby was already there at her table.

He looked away deciding it was better to pretend she wasn't there than to know she was there and be unable to reach her. Several minutes later when he did look over, her white shirt was covered in hot chocolate. Then again in another few minutes, she was walking out with another shirt on and an angry look on her face.

It appeared it wouldn't be a good day for either one of them.

cs

The following day, he saw her several times. She was in and out of Granny's the entire day. All Ruby would tell him was that she was looking for a pregnant friend of hers. He could tell the topic was sensitive to her so he didn't push further.

So when Emma came in later that night, he was half expecting her to be looking for his female co-worker. "Ruby's not here," he said before she could even take a seat at any of the empty tables.

"I wasn't looking for her," Emma said sliding into one of the seats at the counter.

"Oh," he said. He started fixing up a drink for her. "You were here all day with Ruby and I just assumed th-."

"That I had forgotten about you? Nope," Emma said answering her own question. Considering the day she'd just had, she wasn't in the mood for a serious conversation. She wanted to lighten things up a little. "You know I tried to wave hi to you, but you completely ignored me."

"Sorry," he said genuinely apologetic. He could fight back and say that she looked incredibly occupied with whatever was going on, but he didn't want to fight with her.

"You should be after all, I can arrest you if you make me mad now," Emma said.

"Pardon?"

"I'm the new Deputy."

"You -. Congratulations, Swan."

"Thanks, Jones," she said.

He hands her a cup of hot chocolate with cinnamon. "It's on the house," he said. She titled her head and he sensed she was about to tell him that she could pay for herself. He stopped her before she could get a word out. "You're the new Deputy. The least you can let me do is buy you a drink if you're going to keep our town safe."

"Why are you so keen on buying food?" she asked.

He was tempted to tell her about his feelings for her. He wanted to thank her for reviving something in his spirit that made him happier than he has been in the longest time.

"You can tell me anything," she said.

He was a coward. He wasn't going to tell her that he was falling in love with her. He was going to play it off. "But that would be no fun."

She didn't realize the truth behind why he was being so nice to her. She thought maybe Henry had told him about the curse. Maybe he was in on Operation Cobra.

"Fine. I'll let you buy me the hot chocolate. Just this once."

* * *

1x05 "That Still Small Voice"

"I heard the first week of you being Deputy Sheriff has gone great," Killian said.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Emma asked.

"Nope," he said. He had heard about everything. Ruby had come in after her shift had ended and told him about the mines collapsing and Henry and Archie being in them. "You got them both out of danger. You're doing a good job, Deputy."

"I don't feel like I'm doing a good job just yet."

Normally he would make her a cup of hot chocolate. Today he could tell she needed something more. "Rum?" he asked.

She looked at him questioning if she should or not. "I'm off the clock. Why the hell not? Let me buy you a drink," she said.

"Actually, I'm allergic. I never touch the stuff," he said.

She didn't think that was actually possible, but she didn't question him on it.

"How's life living with Mary Margret?" he asked.

"It's better than I expected."

"That's good."

"Yeah," she said. She took a sip of her drink. "So, I guess with half the town being at the mines, someone had to stay here."

"Yeah. I'm the inferior of all the employees here at Granny's."

"If you ask me, you're the only one who gets orders right around here."

They were both feeling down about themselves today. Both of them didn't realize the other was trying to cheer them up.

"It's all for the best. Don't get me wrong, I was worried about your boy, but I wouldn't have been any use to you," he said. He looks down at his missing hand. "Plus I'm not exactly a social butterfly."

"You don't like your neighbors?" she asked. She completely ignored him putting himself down because he only had one arm. She was curious about what had happened, but not enough to make him uncomfortable by asking. "Don't you see them every day? I mean, this is the most popular restaurant in this town."

"People come in here. They eat and then they leave. I know faces and favorite orders, maybe some names, but I don't know people," he said.

She nodded along. "Before this town, I would have said the same thing. I bounced around a lot. I never really saw the point of making lasting friendships."

"Before this town?" Killian asked. He was trying his best not to sound as hopeful and lighthearted as he was feeling. "Do you think you've found that kind of friendship here?"

"Until something comes in and ruins it," Emma said. She realized how pessimistic she sounded right now. "All I'm saying is you should get out more. I've only ever seen you here. I bet you'd look good out of that red and white uniform."

"Emma," he said laughing nervously.

Both their cheeks turn crimson red.

"I meant in some other clothes, Killian," she said laughing at the misinterpretation.

"Oh," he said. He scratches behind his ear apprehensively. "Right."

"Just give it a shot. I'm sure once people got to know you, they won't be coming in here just for the food," Emma said.

She had no idea the effect her words had on him. "I'll think about it."

* * *

1x06 "The Shepherd"

Emma didn't question when she was invited to David's welcome home party. She didn't know the married couple other than the quick exchange when she had met Katherine, but she figured being invited to every party was just something this town did.

"We just have to get him to remember that he's -."

"He's Prince Charming," she said finishing the sentence. Henry was seated right next to her going on about the curse. She had to give him props for his consistent rules to this obviously untrue curse.

"We just have to jog his memory by getting him and Ms. Blanchard together."

"Didn't we just try that?" Emma asked.

"And it woke him up."

"Hey," David said. He came straight up to them. "You're the ones who saved me, right?"

They exchanged brief conversation with him that involved Henry asking him if he used a sword and him asking about Mary Margaret. The next thing she knew, his wife was coming up to her and questioning where he had gone.

She spotted Killian on the other side of the room. He was talking to Leroy. Her curiosity to ask Henry who he thought his fairytale character was got the best of her. She pulled him to the side making sure no one would hear her giving into his insanity. "Who's he?" she asked slightly pointing at Killian.

"That's Killian. He works at Granny's."

"I know. I meant, who is he really?"

"Oh," Henry said. He had a proud smile on his face. He thought she was slowly starting to believe the truth about the curse. "That's Captain Hook."

"Captain Hook is a villain. I've talked to him. He's too nice to be a villain."

"Maybe that's part of the curse for him."

She found herself ready to come to defense. Neither of them noticed Killian walking up to them. "Well, this is quite some party," he said.

Both Henry and Emma put a halt to their conversation.

He looks back and forth between the two of them. "Why do I get the feeling you guys were talking about something rather important?" he asked.

Emma decided to veer the conversation somewhere else. "I saw you talking to Leroy. I told you people would like you once they got to know you," she said.

"I suppose you were right."

He didn't have the heart to tell her Leroy had only been complaining about his food being cold this morning. Instead, he would feed into her illusion that he was someone who could be loved. Maybe then he would believe it himself.

* * *

TBC


	4. 1x07 - 1x08

Thanks again for the reviews!

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

* * *

1x07 "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter"

He was supposed to have the day off. He had been sleeping most of it. That was until Ruby called him and asked him if he could close up so she could go out with friends. She was Granny's family. There was no way he was going to tell her no.

So, he dragged himself out of bed at 8:30pm. It was going to be a long night of staring at the walls, but at least he was well rested. Maybe Emma would come by. He wasn't so bored when she gave him company.

As he was approaching Granny's, he saw Emma coming out. She didn't have a smile on her face. In fact, she looked livid.

Trailing close behind her was Graham. They weren't paying close enough attention to notice him, but he could see everything. Their facial and body expressions showed that they were arguing. He wished he could hear them. The only time he had seen Emma this upset was when she was talking about Regina or when she had spilled hot chocolate on herself.

The way Graham was walking and grabbing onto Emma, he was clearly drunk.

Killian knew Emma could handle herself in any situation, but he still kept an eye on them. He only had one hand, but he would try to help her if it came to it.

Graham took a step in front of Emma putting a stop to their dizzy walking. Emma had her back to Killian. He couldn't read her face anymore. Graham closed the distance between them forcing her into a kiss.

In that quick moment, Killian thought about how much time they probably spent together when he didn't see her. Emma and Graham worked together. He was another part of her life that he was not involved in. He had been wrong to allow himself to be hopeful that he could win Emma's heart over the confident Sheriff.

Just as these thoughts swam around in his head, he noticed Emma pushing Graham away from her. "What the hell was that?" she asked.

She was yelling loud enough so that now he could hear her. Graham, on the other hand, was not.

"How much have you been drinking? That was way over the line!" she yelled.

He said something. Probably a sorry excuse for an apology, Killian thought to himself.

"What? You what?"

He got closer to her.

She lowered her voice, but somewhere in the middle of her sentence, it started to raise again. "You're not getting it with me!"

She walked away, but this time Graham didn't follow after her. Killian wanted to make sure she was okay, but there was no way for him to do that without letting her know that he was being nosy.

He had to believe that he was making the right choice by leaving her alone.

Instead he walked into Granny's and prepared himself for a long night that he knew wouldn't include Emma.

* * *

1x08 "Desperate Souls"

Two weeks. Graham had been dead two weeks. In those two weeks, Emma came by the diner, but any traces of that smile Killian liked so much were long gone. He didn't ask her about her loss or what it meant to her. He didn't ask her about her day nor did she ask him about his. He had seen that fight with Graham outside of Granny's that made him believe Emma didn't have feelings for him, but the way she had been since his death, proved otherwise.

Every time he'd seen her since he heard about the death, she didn't have any emotion on her face. It was almost as if she was a zombie walking around with no feelings.

Today when she walked in, she was mad about something. It was an odd hour of the day for the diner. It was past breakfast, but not quite lunch. If people of this town believed in brunch, they would be having it, but most people skipped it. The places was empty save two couples seated in the back tables opposite of where Emma had seated herself. Right now would be the perfect opportunity to ask her what was wrong.

"What can I get you?" he asked instead. He didn't want to cross a line. So, he stuck to the basics.

"Vodka," she said. She only slightly sounded like she was kidding.

"Coming right up," he said. He turned to leave and get her the glass, but she reached out grabbing his left arm.

"Killian, wait," she said. She realized she had grabbed his arm that had a missing hand. She had never asked him about it or touched him there. She quickly pulled away not wanting him to feel uncomfortable.

"What is it, Swan?" he asked.

"Regina fired me today," Emma said.

"Can she do that?"

"I guess so," she said. She looked down at the table. Her mind was running a mile a minute. "I can't be here."

"What?" Killian asked confused.

"I need to do something productive today," she said. She picked up her car keys from the table. "Maybe even find a new job."

cs

She was happier when she came by later in the afternoon. She spotted Henry right away. She fell into the booth next to him. The boy had a newspaper in his hand. From where he stood, Killian couldn't see what the newspaper said nor could he hear what the blonde and the boy were saying. Things didn't see the happiest between them. Whatever was on that newspaper had turned her smile into a frown.

They talked for a few minutes before Henry got up and left. "Can I get a cheese burger to go?" Emma asked approaching him on the counter.

"Got tired of the grilled cheese?" he asked.

"I'll come back to it. I promise," she said.

He took a couple steps to tell the cook her order. When he came back to Emma, she was looking down at her newspaper. "Something special?" he asked. She handed it to him. "Ex-Jailbird. Emma Swan birthed babe behind bars."

He immediately regretted reading the tagline out loud. He ducked his head down but looked up at her. "I'm sorry," he said.

She ignored his apology. "So does this freak you out? Did I lose your vote for sheriff?" she asked.

"Three things. One, I don't read the newspaper like most people in this town. Two, I already knew you've been to jail," he said.

"What?" she asked.

"Did you spend your first night i-."

"Ha. Ha." She knew exactly what he meant. He was referring to her night in jail the day she arrived. "What's the third thing?"

"Three...," he said. He heard out for as long as he could. "Three, who said you ever had my vote?"

Her mouth fell open in surprise. His tone of voice told her he had been joking. "Hey!" she exclaimed. She narrowed her eyes at him, but with a smile on her face.

He smiled to himself at being able to make her smile especially after everything she's been through these last few weeks. "So where are you off to?" he asked.

"I have go talk to Regina," she said.

"Oh."

She pointed to the newspaper. "This getting out doesn't hurt me as much as it hurts Henry. I can't let her do that to him," she said.

"It's nice that the boy has someone that is looking after him. You're doing a good job, Swan."

"I don't see how being sheriff is looking out for him, but hopefully it enough to sway your vote," she said.

"I meant at being a mother. You are doing a good job at being his mother."

"Order's up!"

It was a good thing their conversation was interrupted because she looked like she was a deer caught in headlights. She was Henry's birth mother, but she didn't consider herself his mother just yet. It was a sore subject and it was best left alone for now.

She handed him a ten. "Keep the change," she said and leaned over to take the bag of food from the cook's hand who was coming to bring it to Killian.

"See you around, Swan," Killian said, but he knew she hadn't heard him.

cs

He looked down at the picture of Emma saving Regina from the fire. She had found yet another way to amaze him.

"I thought I didn't have your vote!" Emma called from a few feet away.

He was outside a shoe store on Main Street. He had asked the store own if he could put up a poster for Emma's election. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said as he taped the poster to the glass window. He gave her a witting smile. "Nice save, Swan."

"It's what any decent person would do."

"If you ask me it was more of an act of heroism," he said.

"Yeah yeah," she said. She rolled her eyes. She looked down at his clothes. "You're still in uniform. Going into work soon?"

"I'm actually on break right now."

"You used your break to put up posters for me? That's sweet," she said. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

He lost all thoughts for a few moments. She was touching him intimately. "I should get back to work."

cs

They all came in together to listen in on Regina give Emma the good news that she was the new sheriff. The look on her face of astonishment made his night all the better.

As soon as Regina and Sidney left, Emma had gone around giving everyone hugs starting with her son, of course. Now she was standing directly in front of him pulling him in for a hug. "Thanks, you know, for not voting for you."

He laughed into her shoulder. "I think we both know you had my vote since the second you walked into this town," he said quietly.

When she pulled apart from the hug, she was staring directly into his eyes. For several moments it was just that. She got lost in those beautiful blue eyes without even realizing it.

Then her eyes followed down his body. He was wearing dark jeans, a buttoned up dress shirt and a leather jacket. "You should wear this more often," Emma said.

He was trying his best to ignore her compliment. He didn't want to let it go to his head.

He wanted her. He wanted a relationship with her. But it didn't feel appropriate right now. Graham had just died and even if he didn't know what exactly they had shared, his death had an impact on her. It wasn't their time just yet. Maybe not ever.

"There's lots of people here to see you. Don't go wasting all of your time on me, Swan," he said.

"Okay. But just so you know..." Emma said. She leaned in and got close to his ear. "...time spent with you is never a waste."

Killian didn't know how she did it, but she left him speechless by just being herself. She didn't realize the hope she was giving him, but he did. He was changing for the better all because of her.

* * *

TBC


	5. 1x09 - 1x11

As always thanks for all the reviews! If you read this, let me know what you think!

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

* * *

1x09 "True North"

Emma walked into the diner just as the sun was coming down. She followed behind her son and two children he had seen around town, but did not know their names. Regina followed behind her a few feet away.

"Relax, Regina. I'm just getting them some food before our long drive," Emma said. The blonde turned around to face Regina, but lowered her voice so the children wouldn't hear her. "This is probably the last time they'll have a decent meal for a long time."

"They have to be in Boston by tonight," Regina said.

"They will be," Emma said. She walked away from the mayor and sat with the kids. She didn't watch as Regina left with a devilish look in her eye.

Not having seen Emma all day and not having heard her conversation, Killian walked up to their table commenting on the three children she was with. "Seems you've adopted an entire family there, Swan," he said. He had meant it as a joke, a quick quip to break the ice. When he sees everyone's faces, he instantly regrets it. "What can I get you guys?"

"Why can't you adopt us?" Nicholas Zimmer asked Emma.

She looked mortified and she was looking straight at Killian.

She was upset with him for opening his mouth. Some distance between them right now would be best. "I'll come back after you've had some time to think about it," Killian said.

"I can't do that," Emma told the young boy.

"Why not?" the young girl asked.

"I'm not fit to be a mother. I wouldn't know how to take care of you guys."

That was when Killian stopped being nosy with listening in. He had screwed up enough. He didn't want to hear the repercussions of his hasty words.

cs

She was alone when she came back not even two hours after she left. They had the place to themselves. "I'm sorry," he said before she even took a seat.

"It's okay," Emma said.

"I shouldn't have opened my mouth. I saw how upset you were when I did," Killian said.

"I wasn't upset with you," she said.

"The look you gave me told me otherwise."

"I was a little upset with you," she said. She saw the look of shame on his face. "But only because I was already in a difficult situation."

"What to talk about it?" he asked.

"Well, it all started with me getting a call that there had been a theft. I showed up and Regina was there with Henry and these two kids..."

* * *

1x10 "7:15 A.M."

Killian couldn't remember the last time there was a storm this strong in Storybrooke. It was lunch time, but because of the rain, few people were coming into the diner. It was good for him, but bad for business.

He set up candles just in case the electricity was cut off. He wasn't walking around blindly. It gave the place a different feeling. But mostly he hoped it would keep people out.

When he heard the door being opened, he knew it had failed. He was only disappointed for a few second until he saw who had come in. Emma shook off the rain that had fallen on her jacket. As she walked over to the unfamiliar man in one of the booths, she took off her ear flap beanie. He watched as she approached him slowly looking down at the box he had set down on the ground when he entered.

"We need to talk," she said before they were even facing each other.

He knew she was talking to him. "Why?" the man asked.

"Because you're suspicious."

"Sitting here, out in the open, drinking coffee? I wonder what kind of hell I would have raised had I ordered a donut," he said.

He was being sarcastic with her. Killian didn't like this man. No one spoke to Emma in such manner.

"You were talking to Henry," Emma said.

Killian might not be close to the lad, but he didn't like hearing that a stranger had approached him.

"You mean the little kid who came up to me asking me questions? Is that usual for him, being curious and precocious?"

"What were you doing outside his house?"

Killian was definitely keeping an eye and ear on this conversation.

"My bike broke down. It happens."

"Your mysterious box. What's in it?"

"It's awfully frustrating not knowing, isn't it?" he asked.

He wanted to punch the smug man into the next town.

"Just tell me."

"Why? Is it illegal to carry around a box in these parts?" he asked.

"No. Of course it's not," she said.

"You really want to know what's inside it, don't you?"

"No... Well, maybe," she said. She sat down in the booth in front of him.

With that, his voice became hushed making it hard for Killian to listen in. Whatever he was saying gave Emma a confused look. He moved in closer to the table. His face less than a foot away from Emma's. Then he pulled back, grabbed the box, and opened it.

Inside the box was a typewriter.

They exchanged only a few words before he set a bill down on the table and got up to leave.

"What about that drink?" Emma called out to him.

"I said sometime," he said and left.

Killian waited a whole five seconds before approaching her. "Can I get you something, love?" he asked.

He mentally slapped himself when the nickname slipped his lips.

Emma was so distracted that she didn't even realize what Killian had called her. "Sorry, I have to go," she said. She walked out the door without giving him a second glance.

* * *

1x11 "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree"

Emma Swan was drunk. She already had been when Killian arrived for his late shift at 7P.M. Things only seemed to get worse since then.

For the first hour after he arrived, she had her head glued to the counter trying to stop the room from spinning. Between serving his other customers and catching his breath, he would tap on her shoulder. She would wave her hand at him to let him know she was still alive.

"Emma, you should go home," he said.

She shook her head. "No way. I feel better," she said.

"I don't know if that's entirely true," Killian said.

"Oh really? Watch me," she said. She skipped her way towards the back of the diner.

He had to resist all urges to chase after her and check on her well-being. He had other customers. They were loyal. So, he didn't want to risk upsetting them.

He had to wait until his customers were gone. That was fifteen minutes later. He hadn't seen any sign of Emma since she left to the back.

"Emma?" he asked. He was expecting to have to go into the women's restroom where he would find her puking her guts out. But he didn't have to look hard to find her. She was standing right next to the jukebox. "What are you doing?"

"Did you know this was here?" she asked. She appeared to be much happier than she was before.

"I did," he said. He looked down at the songs. All of them were outdated. "No one messes with it. I don't think it works."

"Do you have a quarter? We can dance to a song!" she exclaimed.

As much as the idea of dancing with her brought him happiness, he knew it wouldn't be right now. Maybe they would get their chance at some point, but not today, not when she was drunk. "I don't know how to dance, Emma," he said.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Neither to I," she said laughing to herself. She sat down at the nearest booth. The happiness in her eyes was quickly fading.

"What's wrong?" Killian asked. He sat down with her.

"Regina," she said. She rolled her eyes. "I let her get under my skin. I looked like an idiot in front of everyone."

He didn't know exactly what she was referring to, but he let her talk. He figured in her state, in was best to let her do the talking instead of asking questions.

"Regina doesn't want me near Henry."

This was the reason she had gotten drunk. Sure Regina had gotten under her skin for whatever reason, but it almost always came down to the young boy.

She was angry. "I hate it. I don't want to be separated from him anymore."

"I'm sorry," he said.

She may be angry, but she was reasonable. "It's for the best right now."

"Anything I could do to make you feel better?" he asked.

"Be truthful with me," she said.

"What is it you wish to know?"

"Did you mean what you said, about me being a good mother?" She was no longer angry. There was a desperation in her voice.

"Yes, I did, Emma."

"Right now it doesn't feel like it. I screw up. And then I screw up again. And then I screw up another time. I'm just a big screw up," she said.

He really hoped that was just the alcohol. He didn't like thinking Emma saw herself as a screw up.

"You're not a screw up, Swan."

"Then how does Regina always win? She has this whole town fooled."

"Not this whole town," Killian said. He reached over across the table and grabbed her hand. He only realized what he had done after he had done it. He was going to pull away, but she held onto his hand. He tried to hide his smile. "You have me."

"Will I always have you?" she asked.

He knew she wouldn't ask such a question when she was sober, but he humored her anyways. "Always."

"Good," she said with a cheesy smile on her face. She used her thumb to massage his hand.

He didn't like that she was doubting herself in her drunken haze, but he did love that she was being affectionate towards him. He couldn't just accept one, but neglect the other. It didn't work like that.

"We should get you home," Killian said. He quickly grabbed his key to Granny's from his pocket.

"You're closing up?" she asked.

"I'll be back in no time. No one will even notice that I'm gone," Killian said. He offered her a hand to help her stand to her feet.

"I'd notice if you'd go missing," Emma said. She slid her arm into his and pulled him closer so she could rest her head on his shoulder.

"Why thank you, Sheriff Swan," he said. He was trying his best not to fumble along looking like a complete idiot.

"You're really going to walk me all the way home?" she asked. She felt his nod. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"It's called being a gentleman, love."

"I like it when Killian calls me love," Emma said.

"Do you really?" he asked.

"Don't tell him though. He can't know."

He kept in his laughter. She was talking to him without realizing she was talking to him. She was drunker than he had originally thought.

"I promise I won't tell him."

She was walking extra slow. It took them five minutes just to walk one small street. At this rate he wouldn't make it back until the end of the night. Granny was going to find out that he closed the diner in the middle of his shift. She was going to be upset with him. But it was worth it if he got to spent just a little bit more time with the woman he was falling in love with.

* * *

TBC


	6. 1x12 - 1x14

Because of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) I'll be updating every other week for the next month! Hope you guys understand!

As always, your feedback keeps me going! I love hearing what you guys think!

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

* * *

1x12 "Skin Deep"

It didn't take long for Killian to realize Emma didn't remember much of her drunken hours she spent with him that night. Mary Margaret had been there when he dropped her off at home. She had also told a sober Emma that she owed Killian a thanks. When she asked him if she had done anything embarrassing, he smiled and told her of course not.

Today she was at Granny's right at 7am and she wasn't alone.

"This is a sight I haven't seen in a while," Killian said looking back and forth between Emma and Henry.

"Only temporary," Emma said. She looked down at the boy. "But we're making the most of it. Pancakes please," Emma said.

"Extra butter and syrup coming right up," Killian said.

It was rush hour. The cook was working at a fast pace. Their order was out in just a matter of minutes.

"How was your Valentine's Day?" Killian asked.

"I was on shift. I arrested Mr. Gold," Emma said. There was a sense of pride in her voice.

"I never did like that man," Killian said. He knew that Emma's time with Henry was precious. So, he left them alone. "Enjoy your meal."

Even after the thirty minutes was over and Regina had come in to take Henry to school, Emma stayed there sitting at her booth.

He slid into the booth adjacent to hers. He was just asking to get yelled at by stopping to talk to his friend in the middle of a busy shift.

"What's this?" Emma asked. She stared at the thing he put at the center of the table. She didn't make any movement to reach over and touch it.

"It's a rose, Swan," he said.

"I know what it is," she said. She rolled her eyes because he was being a smart ass. She grabbed the rose and sniffed. "What's it for?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's the day after Valentine's Day," he said.

"And?" Emma asked.

"And there's a ton of flowers just laying around that have already been cut and should at least be appreciated before they die," Killian said.

She practically spits out the water she had been drinking. "You're such a romantic," she said laughing. She looked down at the rose admiring it. "No one's ever gotten me flowers for no reason."

"Killian!"

Granny's voice roared throughout the entire diner. Killian closed his eyes. He felt two hands on his cheeks.

"That's not going to make her go away," Emma said.

When he opened his eyes, she was looking at him with a huge smile covering the bottom half of her face. He liked her looking at him like that. It allowed him the delusion that maybe she was in love with him as much as he was in love with her.

"I should get back to work."

cs

Emma Swan was the type of person that the second she got behind the comfort of her own doors, she stripped off her work clothes and got into her pajamas. More than ever that's what she wanted today. Mr. Gold didn't speak much, but when he did, it was always some clever comment. He had made the day feel extra long.

When she got home that night, there was a bouquet of red roses outside the door of the loft. She could only guess they were from David for Mary Margaret. Her roommate had not told her about their little affair, but she wasn't born yesterday. There were so many signs she bet they did not know they were leaving.

She picked up the roses and carried them in.

The school teacher was already inside the loft cooking dinner for the both of them. As much as Emma loved Granny's food, there was something about a home cooked meal. She never got them growing up so she took advantage of it here as much as she could.

"Someone left you flowers," Emma said. She handed them off to her.

"Who would send me flowers?" Mary Margaret asked.

Emma just smiled to herself pretending she didn't know the answer.

"Look, there's a note," Mary Margaret said. She read it silently to herself then looked up at her friend. "I don't think they are for me."

"What?" Emma asked. She took the note from her hand and read it out loud. "Because you deserve to get flowers for no reason at all but to just make you smile."

"Who sent you that?" Mary Margaret asked.

"No one," Emma said. She held the roses close to her face to sniff them. She grabbed a glass, put water in it, and set the flowers in it.

"Don't be coy, Emma."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Emma said. She grabbed her flowers and ran up the stairs before she could get asked anything further.

* * *

1x13 "What Happened to Frederick"

He was in the middle of serving a customer when he looked outside the window of Granny's and found Emma speaking to the mysterious man with the bike and box. She was smiling at him. Maybe even flirting.

A thought in the back of his mind starting pushing itself forward. What if she thought he was the one who left her flowers outside her door last night?

He couldn't stand to watch this. He walked up to Ruby. "I'm not feeling good. I think I might throw up."

"But we are b-."

"I'll come back later if I feel better," he said. He didn't leave room for discussion and made his way out the back door.

cs

He allowed himself to mope a whole eight hours before he saw no point to it anymore. It wasn't like he was in a relationship with Emma. She was his friend. She was beautiful. He was a shy, pathetic waiter. She had better things in her life. She was going to do great things. He was no one.

So, he got dressed and decided to take the next shift at Granny's. He was halfway down main street when he spotted the man with the box on his bike. Emma was talking to him. Both Ruby and Granny were watching their exchange.

"If you don't I will!" Granny exclaimed with a raised hand.

The man handed Emma a helmet and Emma got on the back of the bike. Never even noticing Killian on the other side of the street.

* * *

1x14 "Dreamy"

He didn't see her until the following day. She was there for breakfast with a newspaper in hand. He didn't feel like seeing her. The past few days have been nothing but mixed feelings when it came to Emma.

"Hey can you get Emma?" Ruby asked.

He wished he could tell her no, but she had two plates of food on each arm. Besides she would ask him about it until she figured out the truth. Then once she figured out he was in love with Emma, she would tease him about it endlessly.

"Sure," he said. He walked straight over to Emma who was seated at the back table. "What can I get you today?"

Emma could sense that something was wrong with the man. He wouldn't meet her eyes. He wasn't smiling at her. He wasn't trying to make conversation with her. Even the way he was standing was different. "I haven't known you that long, but I can tell something's wrong. What's going on, Killian?"

"Nothing," he said. He knew that she knew he was lying. "I'm just trying to get through another work day."

"Killian -."

She was worried for him. He hated that she worried about him. He hated that he couldn't tell her what was wrong with him because he didn't even know.

"I'll give you some time to think," he said.

He could feel her eyes following him as he made his way back to the counter. "What was that about?" Ruby asked.

"Nothing," he said.

She would question him about it later, but for right now she was dropping it. Killian silently thanked her.

"Excuse me. Can I have everyone's attention please?"

Mary Margaret stood at the door of the diner.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your morning, but I just wanted to remind everyone that a very special occasion is upon us - Miner's Day. As always the nuns of Storybrooke are hoping that everyone will get involved and will help sell their exquisite candles. All we need are a few energetic volunteers. So who wants to join me?"

There was an awkward silence that filled the air.

Leroy stood to his feet and headed towards the front of the diner. "Leroy, you wanna volunteer?" Mary Margaret asked.

"I want to leave, sister. You're blocking the door."

She moved out of the way.

He felt bad for her. Ever since her affair with David had become public, she had been the one to take all the hate. He watched as she defeatedly left the diner.

"When are people going to get off their high horses and stop treating her like a harlot?" he asked.

"Granny thinks she deserves it at least for another month."

"It's not all her fault," Killian said. He watched as Emma grabbed her stuff of the table and ran after her friend. "Sometimes you can't help who you fall in love with. Sometimes it just sneaks up on you and screws up your whole world."

* * *

TBC


	7. 1x15 - 1x16

Thanks for the feedback! NaNoWriMo is going great! Are any of your doing it also!

Enjoy tonight's two hour special episode!

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

* * *

1x15 "Red-Handed"

"You can't be serious. A whole year without a roof over your head?"

"Well, you get used to it. Plus I had the motorcycle, so if I didn't like a place after a while..." August said. He raised his hand and made a whooshing sound.

Killian couldn't stand to watch this. He had watched Ruby flirt with guys before. This wasn't flirting for her, but it still annoyed him. She held onto his every word as he spoke about his many adventures.

Thankfully Granny pulled her away so she could continue working. Unfortunately, that led to a very public fight between the two women.

"I didn't ask to work here."

"Well, then what's keeping ya?"

"Nothing," Ruby said. Killian could sense this was heading to a very bad direction. "I quit!"

The whole room was paying attention now. So they watched as Ruby stormed off slamming the door shut.

cs

When Ruby came in the next day, she came in with pride. He overheard as she told Granny she was working at the Sheriff's station.

"I hope you're finding what you're looking for," Granny said.

"I am," Ruby said.

The older woman walked away giving Killian the perfect chance to get in the middle. "You're really working at the Sheriff's Station?" he asked.

Ruby nodded, still a little shook up from her conversation with Granny.

"How's Emma as a boss?" he asked.

This made her smile. She crossed her hands across the counter. "So, you're mad at Emma, but you are still checking on her? Makes total sense," Ruby said.

"Mad at Emma? Why would you say that?" Killian asked.

"I stayed over at their loft last night. We talked."

"About me?" he asked. He did a poor job of masking the smile on his face.

"About you pulling a 180° on her and totally ignoring her," she said.

"I'm not -."

"Killian!" Granny yelled.

"Just cause you quit doesn't mean it's as easy for the rest of," Killian said waving goodbye to Ruby as he picked up a tray his boss had set out for him to serve.

cs

He didn't see Emma until breakfast the next day. Ruby had quit her job at the Sheriff's Station and was back to working at Granny's. That meant Emma couldn't send her out to grab food. She had to get it herself. Killian was secretly happy about it.

"Are you going to talk to me today? Because if you're not, I don't want you as my waiter," Emma said right off the bat.

"What does me talking have to do with my waitering skills?" Killian asked.

"Nothing, but I like it when people actually smile at me," Emma said.

"You're the Sheriff. You arrest people for a living. You don't care about people smiling at you," he said.

"I care about you."

Everything else in the room cease to exist. He took in her words. She cared about him. It didn't matter if it wasn't in the way he wanted it to be. It didn't matter that she was flirting with other men.

She was his friend and right now what he needed more than anything, was a friend.

"I care about you, too."

"Want to explain why you were all pouty face then?"

"I was having a rough week," he said. He could sense her next question. "Everything's okay now."

"Good," she said. She knew there was more to it, but she didn't ask about it. If he wanted to talk about it further, he would have said so. "Ruby seems to be happy."

He looked back to where her eyes were. Ruby was smiling at a customer. Her smile bigger than one he had ever seen on her face. "You must be a horrible boss," he said turning back to Emma.

"What?"

"She quit after just one day. You're bossy," he said pointing a finger at her.

"I am not," Emma said.

"That's what a bossy person would say," Killian said.

"Just get me my pancakes."

He shook his head as he walked away. He made sure she heard him when he said, "Bossy."

When he came back with her food several minutes later, he had a smirk on his face. "What?" Emma asked.

"I have to ask, what did you really do to get Ruby to quit so quickly?" he asked.

Emma knew she shouldn't be talking about the case with anyone, but she knew she could trust him. "It might have to do with the human heart we found last night."

The second she tells him what they found, she regret it. He looked like he was about to puke on her nice warm pancakes. "I wish you hadn't told me that," he said.

"Well, there goes asking you to work at the station with me," Emma said.

Killian plays with the idea of working with Emma for a whole two seconds before he remembers that they did find a human heart. "I don't know if I can work under someone so bossy," he said. He walked away leaving her to enjoy her breakfast.

"I'm not bossy!"

* * *

1x16 "Heart of Darkness"

Henry had come by earlier and Killian could tell the boy felt defeated. Mary Margaret was being accused of murdering Kathryn Nolan. The only thing to see to excite him was when that mysterious man with a bike sat next to him and talked to him. He considered telling Emma about this, but he didn't want to see overprotective. For all he knew, Emma and August had been spending a lot of time together. Maybe they were even dating. Besides, she had other things on her mind.

It was late now. The place had cleared out. So when he heard the door of the diner opened, he half guessed it was Emma. When he turned around to see who it is, she is already at the counter.

"Rough day?" he asked.

"You know I've had a rough day," Emma said.

She had come a long way from the woman he met months ago. She was no longer surprised that everyone knew everyone's business.

"How is Mary Margaret?" he asked.

"Not good," Emma said. She shook her head. "David's with her now. Hopefully that'll lift her spirits up."

"What can I get you?"

"Two grilled cheese sandwiches to go," she said. She saw his eyebrow lift eyebrow. "I can't sit around just eating while I could be doing something to get my friend out of jail."

He couldn't be selfish and wish all her time went to him. He missed their late night talks, but he understood the urgency of the situation. He didn't know Mary Margaret all that well, but he knew she couldn't be capable of murder.

Emma talked to him as he made her food. They were the only ones around so it was okay to be loud and talk from a few feet away.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked.

"What's on your mind, love?" he asked. He had tried his best not to refer to her as love because of her confession the other night. Temptation got the best of him.

"What have people been saying?"

He knew she was asking what people have been saying about Mary Margaret. Of all the conversations he had listened in on all day, he knew she was not going to like what he had to stay.

"Your silence is very telling," she said.

"If it helps, I know at least three people who don't believe she did it," he said.

"Who?"

"You, Henry, and myself."

"Henry?" she asked.

"He was here earlier speaking to the man with the bike."

"August was talking to Henry?"

This was the first time he was hearing the man's name. "You don't sound too happy about that. I thought the two of you were getting close," Killian said. He took advantage of the subject to find out just what was going on between the two of them.

"August and I?" Emma asked. She laughed quietly to herself. "It's not like that with us. He's so not my type."

"Don't like men in leather?"

"I have no problem with men in leather," she said. She looked down at her own leather jacket. "Men in leather can be hot."

"Anyone in preference?"

"Nope," she said smiling to herself. She looked down avoiding eye contact with him. She looked up and he was staring straight at her daring her to try to deny she was talking about someone specifically. "Fine. I may or may not have mentioned it to Mary Margaret and Ruby that you look good in a leather jacket."

He nearly chocked on his next breath. "What?"

"Oh come on, don't act like you don't know you're hot," Emma said.

"I'm not h-," he said. Something stopped him mid sentence. "You talk about me with Ruby and Mary Margaret a lot, don't you?"

"What? No!" Emma exclaimed.

"When you thought I was upset with you, Ruby told me you talked about it with her," he said. He handed her the packed food.

He was looking at her with the biggest smirk on his face. She wanted to slap it right off him.

Or kiss it right off of him, a quiet thought in the back of her mind said. Quickly she shook it off.

She scoffed. "Oh get over yourself," Emma said. She handed him the money.

"Says the woman who just called me hot," Killian said, a sole eyebrow of his lifted to add to his smirk.

"I'm going to go now," Emma said. She grabbed her bag of food from the counter and started walking towards the door.

He wished he could throw in just one other remark. Just something to knock her off her feet for a quick second. But he had nothing. For now, he would let her get the last word.

* * *

TBC


	8. 1x17 - 1x18

Thanks for all the reviews! Warning: Killian gets angsty, but it is not without reason.

* * *

 **Chapter Eight**

* * *

1x17 "Hat Trick"

He had the whole day off. So he put on his leather jacket and planned to bug Emma at the Sheriff Station. After all, she was always at his place of work. Now it was his turn.

Except when he got there, the front doors were locked. Mary Margaret's arraignment had been at 8am. It was well past noon now. Emma should have been at the station.

He had her number. He could call her and find out what she was up to. Before he could stop himself, he was pulling out his phone and pushing the Emma button.

"Hello?" Emma answered the phone with a someone sleepy voice.

"Working today? I was going to take you breakfast from Granny's, but you weren't at the station," he said. His story was sketchy but he hoped she wouldn't question it.

"I already ate. It was kind of a long night," Emma said.

"Did I wake you?" he asked.

"It's okay," Emma said.

"Apologizes, Swan."

"Killian, it's okay."

"I'll make it up to you somehow. I promise."

cs

Less than five minutes later, he was knocking at her door with a bouquet of flowers, this time they were lilacs.

She opened the door wearing only a black tank top and grey jogging shorts. "Killian?" she questioned.

"I just wanted to make sure everything was okay," he said. He extended his hand out to give her the flowers. "And to maybe make up for waking you up."

"You didn't have to do that," Emma said. She took the flowers anyway. She left door open leaving him room to slide into the room. "But thank you."

"Long night?" Killian asked.

"I got kidnapped by a crazy man who wanted me to do something with a hat," Emma said.

He didn't understand the back end of her conversation, but he understood what kidnapping meant. "Are you okay?" he asked. He didn't even realize that he had reached over and had both hands on both of her shoulders.

She took notice of his concerned voice. She wasn't used to people worrying for her. So, she let made no effort to push him away. "Mary Margaret and I are fine now," she said.

"How did this man get his hands on Mary Margaret? Wasn't she in her jail cell at the station?"

"The less you know the better," Emma said.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. He began taking steps backwards giving her a little more space. "He didn't hu-."

"I promise, Killian. I'm fine," she said. She sat down on the table. He sat down with her. "Why aren't you at work?"

"I have the day off. I thought I wou-."

Just like that, it occurred to her why he was really there. Why he had called her in the first place. Why he had been searching for her at the station. It all made sense now. "You're jacket!" she yelled.

"What about my jacket?"

"I told you just that I thought you looked good in your jacket. Now you're here in that jacket."

"I don't follow you," he said. He tried to keep a straight face. He was not fooling anyone. "I just came to bring you flowers."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "You know I never did get a chance to thank you for the flowers," she said.

"You did thank me when you took the flowers."

"Not those flowers," she said. She looked at the direction of the door. They both knew she was talking about the flowers he had left for her outside the door. "They were beautiful."

"It was nothing," Killian said.

They sat in silence for a few moments. It was nice to see her like this. She was at home. She wasn't in her sheriff gear. She was relaxed. It was a different look on her, but one he enjoyed.

"I should get back to the station," she said. Just like that she was in sheriff mode once more.

"How's Mary Margaret's spirt?" Killian asked.

"You know how I came by the other day and David was supposed to be cheering her up?"

"Yeah," he said.

"He didn't," she said. There was anger in her words.

"Do you need me to go punch the man? I may only have one hand, but I can try," he said. He lifts up his hand and moves it around in tiny circles mimicking what fighters do just as they're just about to throw a punch.

She found his movements absolutely adorable. "There's no way you're Captain Hook," she said quietly.

It was loud enough for him to hear. "What was that, Swan?"

"Nothing."

"Did you say I was Captain Hook?" he asked.

"No, I said there's no way you are Captain Hook."

"From the Peter Pan movie? Why would I be Captain Hook?"

"You really don't know about Henry's theory?"

"No, I don't," Killian said. Emma pointed to Henry's book on the table right next to him. He had seen the boy with it several time at the diner, but he didn't think there was anything to it. "What does the book have to do with me being Captain Hook?"

"Henry thinks you're Captain Hook because he thinks everyone in this town are all fairytale characters from his book."

"And out of all the characters he could have made me out to be, I'm the villain?" he asked.

"I just told you that Henry thinks everyone is from his story book and that's the part that you got out of it?" she asked.

"Well, it's quite offensive," Killian said. He didn't even realize he had pouted until Emma laughed at him. "Why does he think I'm Captain Hook?"

"I don't know," she said.

She looked at his missing hand for only a quick second, but it was enough for him to see. In all the time he's known her, she has never asked about it, but it was, rather wasn't, there in the air right now.

"Because of my hand? Really?"

"I said I didn't know why," Emma said. She felt bad that the conversation had taken this turn.

"I don't remember losing it," Killian said.

"What?"

"My hand. I don't remember a time where I've had both hands," he said.

She wanted to ask how that was possible, how he could forget how he lost his hand. Someone that extreme had to be remembered. But she didn't. The fact that he had taken this long to bring it up showed her that he was uncomfortable talking about it. She didn't want to risk asking too many questions.

"So, do you think I'm a villain?" he asked changing the subject after a few too many moments of silence.

"You're not a villain, Killian," Emma said.

"But if I was... would you still be my friend?" Killian asked.

"Who said you were even my friend now?" she asked teasingly. When his mouth opened in mock offense, she couldn't help but laugh. "You're not a villain, but you are one of my closest friends."

* * *

1x18 "The Stable Boy"

"What's wrong with the pancakes?"

Killian had been serving another customer when he saw Emma look of disgust as she took the first bite out of her pancakes. When he got around to her table again, she had eaten most of the eggs, but had left her pancakes alone.

"Nothing," she said. She was clearly lying.

"Emma."

"Fine, they are a little dry, but it's okay I ha-."

The cook had been having a bad morning. This wasn't the first complaint he had gotten in the last hour. "I'll get you some extra syrup."

"What's Granny going to think if you keep giving away her stuff for free?" Emma asked. Killian practically ran across the room just to bring her back some extra syrup. "She's going to yell at you."

"Granny can't do anything. I'm Captain Hook," he said.

"Oh God," she said. She hated that she had told him about Henry's theory because she could tell he was letting it get to his head.

"Where do you suppose I could get a good hook around here?"

She looked up at him with an annoyed expression on her face as she poured the syrup on her pancakes. "Captain Hook is being a pain in my ass right now," she said.

"Well, you don't need to be rude about it," he said. He acted as if he was going to take her syrup away.

She swatted his hand right away. "No touching, Killian."

"That's Captain Killian to you."

cs

Killian only worked half a day at Granny's. He had the rest of the day to himself. So he started walking. He had no idea where his feet were taking him until he could smell the ocean.

His walk had led him to the docks. He tried to fit into Henry's version of himself. Henry was convinced that he was Captain Hook. Killian couldn't picture himself being a pirate. Pirates were ruthless and deceitful. He'd like to think he was neither one.

Then he thought about the other side of being a pirate. He would have his own ship. He would have so many adventures out in the ocean. Nothing would hold him back. Anything is better than a boring life here, he thought to himself.

In the distance, he could see Emma sitting down at a bench. She had Henry's book with her. He thought about going up to her, but then the man named August joined her.

Most of the times Killian had seen this man, he was right by Emma's side. She had claimed that there was nothing going on between them, but perhaps she hadn't been ready to admit it. It could be that she did indeed have feeling for him.

Killian had allowed himself his moments of jealousy. He had done it with Graham. He was doing it now with August.

He had nothing against them. Graham had been a sheriff, a man of power. August was mysterious and held himself high. Killian was a waiter. For all he knew, that was all Emma saw him as.

These last couple of months, he had allowed himself to imagine Emma could have feelings for him to. In his mind, there was a future for them.

Right looking at her with another better man, he was starting to doubt not only any future with Emma, but what kind of man he was.

* * *

TBC


	9. 1x19 - 1x21

Sorry for any typos. I just finished typing this up and I wanted to get this posted as soon as possible so that I can hopefully post another chapter up tomorrow before the winter finale! Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

* * *

1x19 "The Return"

Emma didn't come by the diner for a few days. Killian knew she was trying her best to prove that Mary Margaret was innocent. Although he missed seeing her smile every day, he understood her need to focus. In the end, the entire investigation turned out to be useless when Kathryn appeared and was very much alive.

She had sent him a text to invite him over to the loft for Mary Margaret's welcome home party. Not only was he glad that he would see her for more than just a pass by, but it meant that she would actually be fed. He had not seen her at Granny's so he could only assume she was piling her stomach with junk food and snacks that she had hidden away at the Sheriff's Station.

It seemed hypocritical how many people were standing around congratulating Mary Margaret on her freedom when just a few days ago they were gossiping about how guilty they thought she was, but still he sat there alone on the sofa smiling as if just being in this room did not make him feel uncomfortable.

He watched just a few feet away as Henry and August talked. He didn't know how it came to be, but the young boy had grown fond of the man. It only seemed reasonable that the two got to know each other if they were both going to be in Emma's life.

"You and Ruby are here and Granny is on her way. Who is at the diner?" Emma asked as she sat down next to him minutes later.

"There are other people that work there, you know," he said.

"Yeah, but none of them as good as you," Emma said.

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said. He looked at her as she looked around the room from where she was sitting. "Here's one bad; you did good. Your friend is free."

"I didn't have much to do with it."

"Stop doubting yourself, Swan. You've done good for this town, but most of all, you've done good for your boy."

She smiled when her eyes briefly met Henry's.

"I'll stop doubting myself after you stop sulking about whatever it is you're sulking about," she said.

"I'm not sulking," he said defensively.

"Then why aren't you socializing with anyone else in the room?"

"I'm socializing with you," he said. He knew he was sulking, but he just couldn't tell her why he was doing it. This whole time he had let himself believe that maybe they could have something. He knew if it was going to happen, it would take time, but he had hope. Now, it was very evident that Emma was going to have something with August. The way they had been giving each other looks and smiles across the room was all he needed to know.

"That doesn't count," she said.

She stood up on her feet and went to the counter. She, unlike him, had no problem picking up small talk with everyone. He watched almost in awe as she floated around the room. Her son must have inherited that trait from her. Even as he handed off a letter to Mary Margaret, he did it in a way that made everyone in the room smile.

It wasn't until a few minutes after Emma had sent Henry on his way with David, who only was allowed to stand at the door, that Killian realized there was someone else in the room who was far from smiling. Mr. Gold was staring at August curiously. As far as Killian knew, the biker had kept his interactions with everyone to a minimum. So, he wondered what was the story between these two.

Then Mr. Gold turned to him. He stared at him for a whole five seconds before looking off into space with a disgusted looked on his face. It was a look that was clearly meant for him.

All Killian could wonder was what the heck he had done to gain him such hate from the pawn shop owner.

* * *

1x20 "The Stranger"

"What's on your mind, Emma?"

She had come into the diner with a pensive look on her face. It didn't take a genius to realize that her mind was some where else than the food he had put on her table a few minutes ago. This lunch hour was slow so it gave him a chance to be able to stop and ask her about her day.

"Henry," she said.

"What kind of trouble did the lad get himself into now?" he asked.

"It's not him. It's Regina," Emma said.

"What did she do?"

"Evil. Everything she does is evil. I need to get my son away from her."

She had come a long way from the woman who was scared to admit she was a mother. "Swan, what are you saying?"

"I'm going to get Henry back. I'm going to get custody of my son," she said.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Just keep smiling with those sometimes dimpled cheeks and convince me I'm not crazy for wanting to do this," she said.

Despite whatever anger she had towards Regina right now, Emma Swan was in a really good mood. Killian didn't want to do anything that would ruin that. "You are far from crazy," he said.

She smiled at him. "Thanks, Captain."

"Watch yourself, Swan," he said. He looked around the room. Granny was no where in sight. He took a seat at her table. "When you get Henry..."

"If I get Henry," she said.

"When you get him," he said. She may not have the confidence right now, so he would have it for her. "When you get him, what do you plan to do? Will you stay here?"

"I don't know. I have to decide what would be best for Henry. I know he loves it here but do I really want him so close to Regina?" she asked.

"I hope I'm not overstepping when I say I hope you stay," he said. Of course he would hope she would stay. He really liked having her around. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she said not sounding completely sure if she was going to be okay with what he had to ask her.

He asked it anyway. "Are you happy here?"

She didn't answer him right away really giving his question some thought. "Yeah, I am," she said.

"Don't let Regina take away. Henry. Mary Margaret. August. Hold on to whatever makes you happy," he said.

"August? I don-."

"Aren't you da-."

She started laughing. Here he was finally talking to her about the man in her life and she was laughing. "You thought August and I were dating!"

"Well, I me-. Aren't you?"

"No!" she exclaimed. She saw how taken back he was by her answer. "I mean, it's not like he's not good looking or whatever. I just don't see him that way."  
"Oh," Killian said. He felt his lip begin to curve upward and immediately forced himself to bite down on it so she would not notice his smile. "Besides you have your boy to worry about."

"Exactly," she said.

There were words they were both leaving unspoken. These questions he wanted to ask her, but didn't dare bring them to life. He had hope that she would be staying in Storybrooke after she got custody of Henry which meant that maybe he could start having hope for them as well.

She saw his eyes light up at her words. If she allowed herself to think about why Killian was happy to hear that she was not involved with August, it would force her to question her own feelings. She couldn't give into that distraction that she knew it would be. Killian was right about one thing. She had Henry to think about right now. Everything else would have to wait.

"I have to go see Mr. Gold," she said changing the subject. She took the last bite of her food. "Legal stuff and all."

Killian thought about the way the man had looked at him the other day. "Be careful around him, love."

* * *

1x21 "An Apple Red as Blood"

Emma was more determined than ever to get Henry back, but from the bits and pieces of the conversation that she was having with Archie, it didn't sound good. Something he had said had left her shaken up.

Killian had decided to take a walk for his break. He had been doing this a lot recently. He had found that it calmed him and gave him time to clear his head. However, when he found Emma sitting down at one of the tables outside of Granny's. This was very unlike her. She usually used the sheriff's station as a place to sit down and think.

Just like that, his stroll was cancelled.

"Whatever Archie told you, it doesn't matter. You are going to get Henry," he said.

"No, I'm not," she said. Just as he was about to cut in and give her more encouraging words, she further elaborated what she meant. "I'm leaving back to Boston."

"What about Henry?" he asked.

What about me, he thought to himself.

"I can't keep going at it with Regina. No one is going to win and Henry's just going to keep getting hurt. I only want what's best for him and I think this is it," she said. She was fighting the tears just begging for release.

He wanted to beg her to stay, but that would be selfish of him. He couldn't be selfish, not when it came to her. So, instead of sitting there and pleading with her to get this town another chance, he listened.

"Still, I can't help but wonder what kind of life I would have here," she said. She looked around at the street finding the eyes of many of the people she had grown fond of during her stay here. "For the first time, it felt like I had found a home."

"It would have been great having you around, Swan," he said.

"Maybe you would have finally gotten the courage to ask me out on a date," Emma said with a teasing smile on her face.

He knew she was just messing with him. So, he played along. "And because there's a rather limited supply of men here, you would feel obligated to say yes."

"Stop selling yourself short, Killian. You're an amazing man," she said. She leaned over and placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

"And you're an amazing woman," he said. He had tomorrow to giggle to himself about getting a kiss from Emma. Right now, he was saying goodbye to one of his best friends. "Storybrooke won't be the same without you, Emma."

She stood up and brought him in for a hug. "Keep an eye on Henry for me?"

"Of course," he said. He would protect the boy with his life.

Separating from the hug, she smiled up at him. "Don't worry, I'll visit."

"Is that a promise or a threat?"

"See you around..Captain."

* * *

TBC


	10. 1x22

Before you read this, make sure you read my last chapter. I posted it very early this morning because I wanted to make sure this chapter lined up with tonight's Winter Finale. Also unedited because I just finished typing it minutes ago. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Ten

1x22 "A Land Without Magic"

There were less than a handful of people Emma could say she trusted. One of them was Henry. The other had given her space to say goodbye to her son and didn't have her phone on her. The other had answered his phone.

When Killian arrived at the hospital, Emma was walking out the front doors. "Emma!" he yelled. He brought her in for a hug before he could stop himself. She melted right into his hug. It was something she had needed for the past hour. "How is he? How is your boy?"

"Not good," she said. She stood straight with new found strength. "But there's something I can do to help him."

"Are you calling in some Specialist from Boston?" he asked. Being from a big city, he figured she knew someone who could help her son.

She shook her head. "Everything Henry told me was real. The curse is real," she said. She knew from the look he was giving her that he had convinced himself that she was only under a lot of stress because of what was happening to Henry. He didn't believe her. She couldn't blame him. Up until an hour ago, she did not believe either. "And now because I didn't believe him, he could die."

"This is not your fault, Emma."

"No, it's Regina's," she said quietly.

"Where is she now?"

"With Henry," she said. She kept turning on her own feet not exactly sure what direction to head to next. Then just like that, it hit her. "I have to see August."  
He pushed away any jealousy at the mention of his name. Now was not the time for that. "What do you plan to do?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said. This time, she was the one to pull him in for a hug. "Will you watch over Henry for me?"

This was the second time she had asked him to look after her son today. Sadly, this time it could be with a fatal result. He wasn't sure what he could do to help the boy. He wasn't a doctor. He did not practice medicine.

But if Emma wanted him there with Henry, that's exactly where he would be.

"Of course."

cs

By now the whole town was talking about what was going on with Henry. Several people came in and out to visit him. It was the middle of the night and they had their lives to get to back. But not Killian. Even when Mary Margaret came by and asked for a few minutes alone with him to read to him, he stood around outside in the hallways giving them only enough privacy for just that.

It wasn't until he started hearing the machine going off and a bunch of nurses and Dr. Whale rushed into Henry's room that made Killian follow after them.

"What's going on?" he asked. When he got to the room, several nurses were pushing Mary Margaret away. They were both forced to watch from a distance as the team worked together to try to stabilize him.

Nothing seemed to be working.

Henry was dead. Emma's son, the son she had left him to look after, was dead.

He wasn't aware of how much time had passed since she had left. He sat in the chair in the waiting room for hours. His only movement was to barely acknowledge Mary Margaret when she said she was going to get some coffee for Emma and Regina. He didn't think Emma would want coffee during a time like this, but he also knew how much Henry meant to Mary Margaret. She needed space to grieve on her own. So, he didn't question her actions.

He would wait for Emma to return. He didn't know what he would say to her. He didn't know if she would know that the most important person in her life was dead. He didn't want to be the one to tell her. He didn't know how he would even start.

Emma and Regina both came running down the hall straight past him. They were in panic, not great grief like he would have thought. They didn't know about his death, but they knew something was wrong.

"We did everything we could," Doctor Whale said.

"I'm sorry. You're too late," Mother Superior said.

He kept his distance as Emma went into Henry's room. Regina stood on the other side of the glass wall, but her eyes were on the same small boy who now laid lifeless on the hospital bed.

For several minutes, neither of them had the courage enough to get close to the body. Eventually, Regina stepped inside the glass covered room with the three other people following after her.

As soon as Emma saw Killian, she fell into his arms. She said nothing so neither did he. There was nothing he would be able to say that would ease her. Her son was gone and there was no words that could be spoken to change that. She didn't know how long she stayed in his arms, but he made no movement to back away. He was here for her for as long as she needed him.

Memories with Henry flashed in her mind. Him showing up at her door. The car ride to Storybrooke. Operation Cobra. Breakfast at Granny's.

I never told him I loved him, she thought to herself. Her need to tell her son she loved him is what finally forced her out of the arms of her friend.

Killian could predict what she was going to tell Henry as she walked over to him. He bowed his head to look down at the ground and give her some privacy with her now dead son.

"I love you, Henry," she said before kissing him on the forehead.

With a quick gust of air, the curse was broken.

Killian Jones watched his life flash before his eyes. His father. Liam's death. Becoming a pirate. Meeting Milah. Losing her and his hand to Rumpelstiltskin. His quest for revenge.

Henry let out one long breath of life. In breaking the curse, Emma had also brought her son back to life. For a moment, he had to push aside his confusion to be here for her.

"I love you, too. You saved me," Henry said.

"You did it," Regina said.

As people came flowing into the room, Emma became confused. Her eyes met Killian's, but she was surprised when she wasn't met by the kindness she was used to. No, there was something else there that she couldn't quite pin point.

"Henry, what's going on?"

"The curse. I think you broke it," the young boy answered.

"That was True Love's Kiss," Mother Superior said.

"No. No," Regina said in denial.

"If I were you, your majesty. I'd find a place to hide."

Killian watched as Regina tried to plead with Henry before she did what she did best and ran from her problems. He saw as Emma tried to smile at him, but he wasn't sure if he should smile back at her. He wasn't sure of a lot right now.

He joined the rest of the confused bunch in sitting around and thinking about their past lives. He briefly was aware of other's whispers going on around him. It wasn't until a nurse dropped something and the floor and Emma asked her if she was okay that Killian started paying attention to everything around him. The nurse pointed outside the window to a huge cloud of purple smoke quickly gaining on them.

"What is that?" Emma asked.

"Something bad," Henry said.

Killian had been around enough to know what the smoke was. It was magic. Magic was coming to Storybrooke. The real question now was with magic in this world, was he Killian Jones or was he Captain Hook?

* * *

TBC


	11. 2x01

Warning: Did not edit this chapter. Just finished typing it and have some things to do. Just wanted it to be posted already.

I'm going to try to update 2 times a week during hiatus. Sundays and either Wednesdays or Thursdays. Comment which one it should be. Not sure if I'll be posting this Sunday just because I'll be out of town this weekend, but I'm going to try my best. Let's see how that goes. Be sure to leave a review and let me know what you think of Hook now!

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

* * *

2x01 "Broken"

Hook was more confused than ever. In the mist of all the confusion, there was one thing he knew for sure. His affection towards Emma still remained. So, when she asked him to come with her to see what the purple smoke was, he followed after her even though he knew what it was.

He saw as Emma kept a close watch on Henry. He had just been dead. True Love's Kiss had brought him back. She believed in magic now, but she didn't understand it. Henry was perfectly fine now. Still, her motherly instincts were kicking in and she kept him no further than arms length.

"So, you're really Captain Hook, huh?" she asked.

"The one and only," he said.

"So, are you a hero or a villain?" Emma asked. She had meant it as a light question just to fill the air, but she saw in his eyes, that maybe she shouldn't have asked.

"Well, I'm sure not the savior," he said. He smiled at her. "That's your title."

She stared at him for several moments as he looked off into another direction. His strut carried more confidence than it did when she just knew him as Killian Jones. Captain Hook had been more self assured than she had known him as. Behind that confidence, Emma noticed the confusion he was trying to mask away. Whoever Captain Hook was, he did not want her knowing him.

"I think I see your parents, love," he said as they approached Granny's. He heard her laugh at the mention of her parents. Just like that, he had distracted her putting an end to their conversation.

Everyone was pulling everyone in for hugs for their happy reunion.

"So, what do we do now?" Ruby asked.

"Now? Now I find my daughter," Mary Margaret said.

By this time, they were close enough that Emma joined in on the conversation. "So, it's true."

Hook kept his distance, but still watched as she was reunited with her parents. It was an emotional one. There were tears running down both David and Mary Margaret's cheeks. Even the people looking on were getting emotional watching as the now grown princess was reunited with her family after so many years.

"You found us," Mary Margaret said, her voice breaking.

"Grandpa?" Henry asked.

Even the pirate had to laugh at this. Even in his confused state of mind right now, he found the boy's odd sense of humor amusing. It didn't go unnoticed by Hook, or even Emma for that fact, that no one tried to involve him in their reunion. No one reached over to hug him. He may have spent the last 28 years working with Ruby and serving all of the dwarves their food as Killian Jones, but right now all they saw was the infamous Captain Hook.

He kept his head down as Mary Margaret complimented Emma for saving them and Leroy questioning why they were still in this world. When they asked about the smoke, Mother Superior right on cue let them know that it was magic. They thought it was Regina, but the savior let them know that it wasn't.

He followed after Emma as she sought out to question Mr. Gold. He didn't know what he was going to do when he came face to face with that man, but he followed. He was almost glad when Emma stopped heading towards Gold's shop when the angry mob marched their way over to Regina's to kill her. Maybe he wasn't quite ready to face his biggest enemy yet.

He ran with them.

They had gotten there just in time. Regina did not have her powers. Secretly, Killian was relieved to see that. The Evil Queen with her powers could be disastrous. However, right now, everyone was angry with her. If it hadn't been for Emma intervening, Regina could very well be dead. Emma had stopped the mob of people from hurting her, but it took David and Mary Margaret to calm the people down. This was a side of them she had not seen and it read easily on her face when Killian looked at her.

After they locked Regina away in one of the jail cells at the Sheriff's Station, they made it very clear they wanted to find Mr. Gold next. Emma didn't want Henry nearby. He couldn't blame her.

"Perhaps I should go with the boy and Ruby," Hook said.

"Why?" Emma asked.

He pulled her aside. Henry was talking with his grandparents trying to get as much information about their world as he could. "I don't think I should be anywhere nearby when you come face to face with the crocodile," he said.

"The crocodile?" she asked with an eyebrow arched up.

"Mr. Gold," Hook said.

"Past life?" she asked.

With that question, she was asking a lot. Now would have been a good time to tell her about Milah and what the man she knew as Mr. Gold had done to her and his hand, but he kept his mouth shut. She already had enough on her plate. So, he simply confirmed, "Past life."

"Is he safe with you?" she asked. She hated having to ask him such a question. The whole time she had known Killian, he has been nothing but sweet towards her son. That side of him never gave her a reason to believe that he would harm Henry. If she was honest with herself, this new Captain Hook side scared her, but only because she saw that a piece of it scared him too.

The shy cursed personality of Killian Jones broke straight through when he reached over to bring her hand into his own. Before he would have done so timidly, but that was gone now. "I promise you that no matter what, I will not cause harm to you or your son."

In the brief time since the curse had broken, Emma had noticed that he was more confident now. Still when he held onto her hand tightly, she wasn't quite expecting that. "Promise?" she asked.

He brought her hand up to his lips and placed a gently kiss on it. "Promise."

Her mouth opened in shock. Maybe if they weren't in the middle of a crisis going on, he would have boasted about being able to do that to her, but he let it was plenty of time to boast of the many things he would do to her later.

cs

If he had known that his conversation with Emma would have been the last, he would have dragged it out longer. He would have tried to convince her not to go after Rumpelstiltskin. That was the problem with not knowing the future.

David used Henry's phone to call Killian so that he could ask him to meet him at the Sheriff's Station. He really hadn't felt going, but this was Emma's father requesting his presence. He had lost his wife and daughter all at once, Killian did not want to upset him anymore.

"Where's Henry?" Hook asked right away when he noticed it was just the two of them.

"Ruby went with him to go pack some of his stuff that he could bring to the loft," David said.

"So, that's where you'll be staying then?"

"Seemed like the right place to be," David said.

He nodded not finding a reason to disagree with the prince. "So, why did you want me to meet you here?" he asked.

The prince goes to Emma's desk and pulls something from one of the drawers. Instantly Killian recognizes his hook. During the curse, he hadn't had his hook. From time to time he would use a wooden hand with a glove over it, but most of the time he left his stump alone. "How did you know that was there? Did Emma have it this entire time?" he asked.

He couldn't understand how she would even have it. Maybe she had found it and didn't know it belonged to him. But that wouldn't explain why she had kept it. It was a hook. To anyone else, it was of no real value, but for him, it was a lot.

"She found this in Gold's shop. Without anyone noticing, she stole it. She said it belonged to you," David said.

He made a mental note to make fun of Emma's sticky fingers later. Then he had to remind himself he may never see her again.

"Captain Hook, huh? I don't remember ever meeting you in our land," he said. He handed him the sharp hook.

Killian took it from him at an almost inhuman speed. "Consider yourself lucky then," Hook said. He looked down at the shiny object. It felt almost foreign in his hand right now. Without another word, he turned on his feet and began walking out of the station.

"Hook!" David called after him.

It had been so long since someone had called him by that. He was not sure how to feel about it.

"Where are you going?" the prince asked.

"I can honestly say, I have no idea."

* * *

TBC


	12. 2x02 - 2x04

So a couple of readers brought up that I did not have Killian go to the Enchanted Forest with Emma. I did this for a number of reasons. First, I wanted Killian to struggle with who he was, but I felt like it would be more of a struggle without Emma there. Second, re-watching the first couple of episodes of season two, I noticed just how much Emma and Snow needed that trip together for Emma to understand her mother more. I didn't want to take away from that by adding someone else to the mix.

How does that change what happens? It doesn't, well, not really. Maybe I'm taking the easy way out, but I think Emma and Mary Margaret (even Cora for that fact) could have gotten to Storybrooke without Hook. Not to minimize his role in it, but these are headstrong women. I think they would have found a way to get back no matter what it took. With that being said, this is a story mostly told from Killian's point of view. So, I won't be focusing on the details on how they get back home. Like I said, I'm taking the easy way out!

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve**

* * *

2x02 "We Are Both"

The town of Storybrooke had shut down. Since the curse had broken everyone had been running around frantically. Those who still had families, searched for their families. Those who needed help, sought out help. Those who owned businesses, closed down to deal with the aftermath. That left Granny's as the perfect hiding place.

The first chance he got he burned down the cabin he had been staying in for the majority of the last three decades. That wasn't home. His ship would always be home for him. He just had to find a way to get to it first. In burning down his temporary home, Rumpelstiltskin would not be able to use it against him. Killian would not have to fall asleep that he would wake up to the crocodile looking at him over his bed seconds before he ends his life. He figured the diner that was closed for business would be the safest place for him right now.

He was hiding. He knew that it was a cowardly trait the curse had given him. He knew his hatred for the man who had taken the woman he loved from him was there. Perhaps it had always been there even when his memories weren't. Still, with everything going on, more specifically Emma and Mary Margaret missing, it was not the right time to cause chaos in the town.

It was the smallest noise that woke Killian up from his sleep. Before he used to be a heavy sleeper. The waves could be rocking the ship back and forth and Captain Hook would still be sound asleep in his Captain's Quarters. At the sound of people coming into the diner, he retreated to the back of the place.

Listening in from the bathroom, he heard Ruby's voice. They were opening up the place for business again. He stayed inside hoping that as the time went by, they would change their minds. When he figured that was not the case, he came out.

David was paying at the register. It took him several moments to notice the other man standing across the room. Killian seated himself at the furthest booth hoping to avoid any interaction. The prince was not on the same page.

"Hook," he said with a less than friendly nod.

"What are you doing here, your highness?" Killian asked.

"Everyone has to eat," David said. He tried to lighten the tension between the both of them, but the non royal of the two wasn't giving him much to go on. "I wanted to make sure Henry ate before sending him off to school."

"School?"

"Life must go on," David said.

"That would explain why Granny's reopened," Killian said under his breath.

"If you had been around, you would have heard my speech. Where have you been, Killian?" David asked.

He didn't know what to make of the way the prince was talking to him. He went back and forth between calling him Hook and Killian. He saw both the cursed man and the pirate, but what did that mean? Did he trust him or not?

"Here," Killian said deciding honesty was probably best right now.

"You've been staying here? Why?"

"It's the safest place for me right now."

"From who? Regina?"

"Not her," he said.

David didn't ask who Killian was hiding from. He knew he could and he would get his answer, but he felt best not to. "I'll make you a deal."

Deals were the crocodile's specialty, but he was intrigued at what Emma's father thought he had to offer him. "What?"

"Stay with me and Henry. Whoever you share a past with will not mess with you there," David said.

"What is expected from me?"

"I want you to help me get my wife and daughter back."

No matter who he saw him as, David trusted Killian enough to ask him for help and offer him a place to stay. That was all he needed for now.

* * *

2x03 "Lady of the Lake"

In order to make up for not wanting to leave the loft in order to join David on whatever lead he had now to get his family back, Killian prepared a feast for the prince and young boy. Whenever they finished with their day, they would have delicious food to welcome them home.

For the most part, he was in a good mood. Yes, Emma was still missing. Yes, his enemy still wanted to kill him. Still, he needed to find reasons to be happy. So, he did small things to make himself smile. One of them was singing while he cooked. Before today, he could not remember the last time he had sung. After his father abandoned him, he had used singing as a way to escape the sad reality that become his life. When he lost his brother and Milah, he had done the same.

It took Regina calling to yell at him to sour his mood.

"Hello," he said. He felt weird answering a phone that was not his, but no one else was around in the loft but him. So, he picked it up unsure who would be on the other line.

He wished it would be Emma. He wanted her to have found a way back to this world. The stress of finding a way to bring them back would be over. Then he didn't want it to be her. He wasn't sure what his next move would be after she was home. With that quest gone, would it leave room for only revenge?

It was not Emma who was calling right now. Instead he heard Regina's voice already filled with anger. "Hook? What are you doing there? Where is David?" she asked.

"I -," he said. He did not know what he was going to say next. He had a history with the evil queen as well. He didn't want her knowing that he was staying with them. Luckily for him, she had more pressing things on her mind.

"Is Henry there with you?"

"Shouldn't the young lad be at school?"

"He was supposed to meet me for lunch. He didn't show up!" she yelled. She was mad and she was taking her anger out on him.

He muffled her voice out and continued cooking.

"Killian! Are you listening to me?" she asked after several minutes.

"What do you want, Regina?" he asked.

"If anything happens to my son, it's on you!" she yelled before hanging up the phone.

He did not understand her logic, but she did not leave him any room to argue. "Henry, what trouble have you gotten yourself into now?" he asked to the empty loft.

* * *

2x04 "The Crocodile"

He could not take another day being locked away in Mary Margaret and Emma's loft. As much as he hated the idea of running into Rumpelstiltskin, the pirate in him needed some fresh air. So, he went to the one place that he felt would be safe for him other than the loft. His enemy was never really one to come into the diner. He doubted he would run into him there.

The last person he had expected to find was the crocodile's love. The last and only time he had seen her had been when he tried to get her to tell him how to kill the dark one. When he found out she did not know how, he had been ready to end her life. Right now, he wanted to avoid that reunion. So, he stayed very still and kept to himself as he watched her interaction with Ruby.

Later after she had left, he would ask her about her conversation with the other woman. "Who was she?" he asked.

"Her name's Belle. I don't think I've ever seen her here before," Ruby said.

"Something tells me she's been locked away for a long time," Killian said.

"You knew her back in our world?"

"Briefly," he said. He looked down at her outfit. "I guess the uniform got thrown out with the curse."

She nodded. "When are you coming back to work, Killian?" she asked.

"I don't think that's the best idea," he said.

"Will you just think about it?"

"I can promise to think about it, but I can't promise you'll like my answer."

He stayed in his place until he saw the very man he hated most walking inside the one place he thought he was safe. The Dark One was not alone. David was with him. Whatever business the two of them had together, Killian did not want to be anywhere near to find out.

cs

Something inside Killian snapped. He was tired of hiding. Even as Mr. Gold, he had his memories from his past life. If he had wanted to end his life, he could have done so.

"I'll start working here again," Killian said as he sat down at the bar of Granny's.

"Good, you can start right now," Ruby said.

After the curse was broken, she, along with the dwarves, Granny and Emma's parents had given him the next closest thing to a cold shoulder. Now that things were starting to settle in, he hoped the little bit of friendships that he did have could go back to normal. It would have to start with Ruby. "Feed me first," he said.

"These brown round things taste delicious."

It was Belle's voice. Killian had not noticed that she was sitting a few chairs over. He tried to stay still. Maybe if she did not see his face, she would not recognize him. She wouldn't freak out and tell them how horrible he was and risk ruining his newly rediscovered friendship with Ruby.

"Are you a fan of these things?" she asked.

It took him a few seconds to realize she was talking to him. He slowly turned preparing himself for her reaction when she recognized him. Nothing happened. She was only waiting for his reply. She did not remember him.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that in the whole two minutes that he had seen her, he had knocked her out.

"Pancakes are one of my favorites," he said.

"I'm Belle," she said.

"Killian."

cs

He was surprised at how quickly he found himself engaging in small talk with the woman he had once knocked out. He felt bad keeping the truth a secret, but he wasn't going to let the past completely ruin the present.

Very discreetly, he watched her as she used the key to get into the library. He wasn't trying to hurt her like he did before, he was curious about this woman. She had been in love with a monster. She had been locked away for the last three decades. She had a fascination with books.

Most of all, he feared that she really did remember him. He was becoming paranoid with the idea that maybe she was working for the dark one.

So, he would follow her until he got his answer.

He watched from across the street as she explored the library. Almost out of thin air, Rumpelstiltskin appeared. He could have used this to confirm his suspicion, but then as he watched their interaction, he was not so sure.

His features were softer than normal as he talked to Belle. There was no question in his mind that he truly did love her.

Maybe the reason Rumpelstiltskin isn't going after Killian is the same reason Killian isn't going after Rumpelstiltskin, the both wanted to prove to the woman they loved that they weren't the man they were before.

* * *

TBC


	13. 2x05 - 2x07

Sorry in advance if the formatting in this chapter is funky. I tried to fix it and it just didn't work. Also, this is another chapter that I didn't edit so if there's typos, please forgive me.

Because I said I would update twice a week during hiatus and then followed that up with not updating for two whole weeks, I'm going to try to update a few more times this week! I'll be honest with you guys, I had writer's block. I thought I would be okay with writing Emma and Hook apart. It turns out, I got really bored of it. I read somewhere that if you are bored writing it, your readers are going to get bored reading it. I kind of think that's what happen because I only got a few reviews for the last chapter. With that in mind, I wrote this chapter as quickly as I could because I knew that the next one would be Emma and Killian's reunion. There's something to look forward to!

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

2x05 "The Doctor"

It was Killian third official day back at Granny's. Surprisingly, everything had been going great. For the first time, other than with Emma, since arriving in Storybrooke, people had been smiling at him. He laughed about it to himself. When he was just shy cursed Killian, very few people bothered with him. If anything, they often blamed him when their meals weren't the way they wanted it. Based on their actions immediately after the curse was broken and the way no one reached out to hug him, he thought they were going to show nothing but disapproval towards his pirate side. He couldn't have been more wrong.

In some ways, Captain Hook was more approachable than Killian Jones. Perhaps there was something approachable about the hook over the sometimes sadden smile that his cursed self wore. Either way, he was accepted and accepting of what was going on around him.

If there was more of cold-blooded pirate side still lingering around, he would have killed them at the mere concept that they did not except him before. Captain Hook wouldn't have cared if they were just as cursed as he was. The pirate would have believed that if they did not accept him, they deserved to die.

But he wasn't that man anymore. It started as something he was doing for Emma. He was staying on the right path because of her. That reasoning was starting to fade. It had been weeks since the curse had broken; weeks since Emma and her mother had fallen into the portal. David was trying to find a way to reach them. The prince tried to stay positive for his grandson, but Killian could see his hope was slowly starting to disappear.

He had to stay on the right path for himself now. He didn't want to think about it, but if Emma never came back, he can't just go back to the person he was. He had come to far to set himself back by becoming a villain again.

Rumpelstiltskin was not making it easy on him. The man who had killed his love was on his second set of pancakes. When they were cursed, he couldn't remember a time the man stepped into the diner. Now that the curse was broken, he could only assume it was all a ploy so he could watch him. What he wanted to get out of watching his enemy work as a bus boy, Killian did not know. But he knew it had to be something bad.

* * *

2x06 "Tallahassee"

The next day, Mr. Gold came in again. The previous day, he had avoided looking directly at Killian. They both knew why he was there, but they kept it to themselves. Today, he wasn't bothering to mask what he was really after. He watched Killian's every move with hate filled eyes. He could feel his eyes burning at the back of his skull, but he tried to ignore it.

"What did you do to piss off Mr. Gold?" Ruby asked. She had noticed the way the pawn shop owner was looking at the former pirate fifteen minutes ago. She was just now getting a chance to speak up about it.

"Nothing," Killian said looking straight at the Gold.

"That sure doesn't look like nothing," she said.

"I'll handle it," he said.

He brought food to a waiting customer and made his way over to the booth at the front of the diner that Rumpelstiltskin was sitting at. With every step that he took, the pirate in him disappeared and the coward in his reappeared. This was the man who he had spent hundreds of years hating. A man who he wanted to kill. A man who was most likely to kill him first before he even got the chance.

He refused to show him that he lived in fear.

"What do you want, Crocodile?" Killian asked.

"You. Dead."

"Well, on with it then, dark one," Killian said. He knew that if he wanted him dead, he would have done so already.

"Not yet," he said. He was toying with him in any way possible dragging out the entire thing.

If Rumpelstiltskin had been watching him this entire time, he knew that Killian was trying to better himself. Yet he was still here torturing him with ghosts from his past. The Dark One did not care who he hurt so long as he got what he wanted.

It was with that realization that Killian began walking towards the counter where Ruby was handing the cook a list of things to make for a customer. He thought that he could have a life outside of the walls of the loft. He thought he could let go of the past at least for now, but that wasn't going to happen.

He was not going to let it happen.

"I quit," Killian said. Without giving Ruby any other explanation, he walked out and headed straight towards Mary Margaret and Emma's loft.

* * *

2x07 "Child of the Moon"

Since quitting his job at Granny's a few days ago, Killian had gone back to hiding out in the loft. David didn't question why he had left the diner and for that the pirate was thankful. So, he went back to cooking for the prince and the son of the woman he loved. They would come home and talk about their day. For those few short moments, it was almost as if he was part of their family.

But he knew better than to truly let himself believe that.

He had everything laid out for their dinner tonight, but then David called him to tell him that they were celebrating at Granny's. They had found diamonds. There was hope once more that Emma and Snow would return. With that in mind, he couldn't be angry at the warm meal he made that would now be left uneaten.

cs  
The next morning, he woke up to Regina and Henry's voices coming from the bottom level of the loft. He knew she would not hurt the boy so there was no worry there, but he wasn't sure he should go downstairs and join them. He had a complicated past with the evil queen, one he was not ready to revisit it yet.

So, he listened carefully making sure not to make any noise and alert them that he was awake. Henry was having nightmares. That he already knew. The burns, however, were new.

It wasn't until Regina mentioned that they should call Mr. Gold that Killian jumped up from the bed. As quickly as he could, he threw on his leather jacket and two steps at a time descended the stairs.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked Henry as he stood at the door ready to leave. He paid only attention to the young boy's face and ignored the queen.

"Yeah," Henry said.

"I'll be back later," Killian said and practically sprinted out the door.

cs

By the time he came back, Regina was tucking Henry back into bed. One of the last things Killian wanted to do was start a conversation with the evil queen, but he was worried for the boy.

"Was Mr. Gold able to help him?" he asked.

"In a way," Regina said. She gave Henry a kiss on the forehead before joining him a few feet away in the kitchen. "I'm guessing that's why you left earlier?"

"I'm staying away from him. That's what is best for now," he said.

"Backing away from a fight you don't think you can win?" she asked.

"Well, you were the one that made me a coward," Killian said. He wanted to be angry at her for forcing him into this curse, but he pulverized it down.

"Is my son safe with you?" Regina asked.

"About as safe as he is with you," he said. She gave him a cold glare. "I won't hurt him."

"You care about his mother, don't you?"

He find it amusing that after everything she's done to her, she couldn't just come out and call her by her name. "Emma is a friend, yes."  
"She means more to you, doesn't she?" Regina asked.

"That does not concern you," Killian said finding courage to stand against the woman. His friendship with Emma is not something he is going to allow others to use as leverage.

Regina seemed to understand that. "David called me a few minutes ago. The hat they were going to use... it's gone. I thought you should know," she said.

She wasn't saying it directly but he knew what she meant. With the hat being gone, so was their chance to get Emma and Mary Margaret back.

"David won't give up. He'll find a way," Killian said. He wasn't sure if he was trying to convince her or himself.

"We'll see about that."

* * *

TBC


	14. 2x08 - 2x09

Things to look forward to for this chapter: 1) I explain why Hook got pulled into Regina's curse. 2) Emma and Killian reunion. Let me know what you think of both!

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen**

* * *

2x08 "Into the Deep"

If there was anything to bring together Prince Charming, the Evil Queen, and Captain Hook, it was the well being of young Henry. The three of them slept downstairs each taking turns sleeping on the couch. It had been his turn when he heard Henry from across the room.

"They're alive! They're alive!"

"Who? Who's alive?" David asked as every one came in closer to the bed the boy had been sleeping in.

"My mom and Snow," Henry said.

"I told you, kid. I told you!"

"Was it that woman you saw? Did she tell you this?" Regina quickly asked. The concern very evident in her voice.

"Her name's Aurora. She said they have a way home, but there's someone in their way. Someone they need us to help them stop, someone only Mr. Gold knows how to defeat."

He knew that at some point, he would have to face his enemy. They were stuck in this small town together with too much history to be avoided. He just hoped he would deal with it later. He hated that the man he hated most was the one that would help them get Emma and Mary Margaret back.

"Who?" Regina asked.

There was something about the person who Gold could help defeat that left Emma's son feeling unsure. "Your mother," Henry said.

"That's not possible. She's dead," Regina said.

Until now Killian had only listened in on their conversation. That was about to chance. Regina would make him very involved in this conversation.

"Not according to Aurora."

"She's supposed to be dead," Regina said. Quickly she directed her head at Killian. "You were supposed to kill her!

Henry gasped at his mother's outburst. Killian saw fear in the young boy's eyes. Regina was his mother. Killian was his other mother's friend. He knew that they were villains back in their land, but seeing it being talked about candidly was something else entirely.

"Perhaps we should discuss this outside."

"Not yet, pirate," Regina said. She turned to her son. "How is my mother stopping them? What does she want with them?"

After Henry had explained to them what the woman from the room had told him, David had insisted the boy eat breakfast. As insane as their lives could be, it was important to keep him on a schedule. Luckily for him, it was Saturday and the day did not require him to attend school.

"I'm going to go talk to Gold," Regina said. Killian followed her out into the small hallway outside the loft. "You're coming with? I thought you and the dark one had a nasty past?"

"I'm not coming with you, but I wanted a chance to explain myself," he said.

"You? Explaining yourself? How uncharacteristic of you," Regina said.

"That's what happens when you have twenty eight years of coward jumbled in your head," he said. He made sure she knew that even though he was here talking to her for Henry and Emma sake, he still did not forgive her for the curse she forced on him.

"How is my mother still alive?"

"When you sent me to kill her, she offered me a deal," he said.

"What kind of deal?"

"She told me of your curse. She told me she would help me escape it."  
"But you didn't. You were cursed just as everyone else in this town," she said.

"Well your mother is your mother. I betray you. She betrayed me," he said.

"How?"

"Just as the curse was coming she used magic to place me in the heart of your curse," Killian said.

"That's how you landed here."

He nodded along. "Do what you have to make sure she does not come into this world. Do what you have to do to protect your son from Cora," he said. He could tell by the look in her eyes that she had already thought about what her mother could do to her son. Regina was selfish in many ways, but when it came to her son, she really did love him.

cs

Henry was taken to Mr. Gold's shop, but Killian made sure to check in with David to see what was going on. The further he went into the Netherworld, the worse his burns got. So, David was going to go under the sleeping curse.

The former pirate wished he could have that much hope. But from where he was standing right now, alone in the kitchen on the sidelines instead of in the center of the action like he used to live, it was hard to imagine anything other than the walls that surrounded him.

* * *

2x09 "Queen of Hearts"

The next day, Killian found himself in a very strange place. He had grown annoyed with his own coward behavior. So he stood there at the door of Gold's pawn shop. If the dark one was there, he was sure to end his life there on the spot. That was a risk Killian was willing to take. If he was going to move forward, getting out of the house to support someone who has supported him was the first step. He wasn't sure calling Emma's father his friend was appropriate, but right now that he and Henry were the closest things he had.

"Henry?" he called out when he entered the shop. Even during the curse he stayed away from this place. So, he had no idea what the inside really looked like.

"Killian?" Henry asked coming out from a room in the back of the shop. He watched as his mother's friend explored the room looking for one person in particular. "Mr. Gold isn't here. It's safe."

Hook smiled to himself. He hadn't really told Henry about his past with the dark one, but the boy had a way of figuring things out.

"How is your grandfather?" he asked.

"Still under the sleeping curse," Henry said. He picked up his story book. "I was just about to read to him."  
"Can I stay and hear along?"

"Sure."  
Henry had been in the middle of his sentence when Ruby and the dwarves came rushing in. "Where are they - Regina and Gold?" Ruby asked, her voice sounding very panicked.

"What's going on?" Henry asked picking up on that panic.

"All the magic has been drained from the mines," she said.

"They stole it?"

"They snuck in after our shift and took everything. Nobody steals from a dwarf."

"Except the queen."

"And Rumpelstiltskin."

Killian rolled his eyes at the dwarves joking manner during thing very serious time.

"If they're not helping Emma and Mary Margaret, that... that means my mom lied to me," Henry said. Even from across the room, Killian could tell how disappointed the boy was.

"I'm sorry, Henry," Ruby said. She kneeled down to the boy's level.

"We need to find her. We need to stop them. We need to help Emma and Mary Margaret."  
cs

Henry lead the way to the well where Regina and Rumpelstiltskin were up to something that didn't look like it was with good intentions. Killian and Ruby followed closely behind him.

"Mom? You're not helping Emma and Mary Margaret, are you?" Henry asked.

"I'm helping you, Henry," Regina said.

Killian decided it was best if he paid attention to their conversation rather than to pay attention to the death wishing look the crocodile was sure to be giving him.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're gonna kill them," Ruby said. She took a step forward toward the evil queen and the dark one.

"Sorry, dearie," Gold said raising his hand.

Killian felt himself being lifted off the ground and thrown against a tree. His world very quickly fading to black.

"She saved you. She saved both of you."

When he next opened his eyes, everything around his was fuzzy. He heard voices coming from just a few feet away, but he wasn't sure what was going on.

"Are you okay?"

"Where's my husband? I need to find him!"

Moments later, when his vision became clearer, the first thing he saw was Emma Swan. He couldn't believe his eyes. After weeks of wondering if he would ever see her again, she was finally there before him. Part of him wanted to run to her and sweep her by her feet into his arms, the other part, the one that was winning, stood there in shock just watching her.

She was standing there talking to Regina with no idea that the woman in front of her just tried to sabotage her way home. In the distance he could see Mary Margaret and Ruby running like they were on a mission and he remembered that Emma's mother needed to bring back her father with True Love's Kiss. Then there was Rumpelstiltskin slowly walking away using his cane.

"Welcome back," Regina said giving the savior a half smile.

"Thanks," Emma said pulling Henry tighter.

Their eyes met, but he still couldn't find the strength to pick himself up off the ground. Part of him was scared that if he got up, somehow she would disappear, that it had all been some sick and twisted dream. If staying on the ground would keep her there, he would live in this spot just to have her there.

She pulled herself out of Henry's embrace and walked straight over to him. She offered him a hand to help him back up. "Swan? Is it really you?"

She only smiled at him in silence.

He took the hand she had offered him and brought it to his lips. "Hi," he said right before giving the hand a quick kiss.

"What no hug?" she asked. She pulled him up so that they were standing face to face.

"I've thought hugs were overrated. I'm more of a kisser," he said. He leans in closer to her.

She was surprised at his boldness, but it didn't annoy her. Emma's eyes grow wide thinking he is going to kiss her on the lips this time, but of course he didn't.

His lips are less than one inch away from her. That's when he instead pulls her in for a hug. "I guess a hug will have to do," he said He felt her laugh as she hugged him in tighter.

"You did that on purpose," she said nudging his side as they pulled apart.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said shrugging his shoulders innocently.

"Oh sure," she said. Henry pulled up at her side.

"It really is great to have you back, Swan."

* * *

TBC


	15. 2x10

This is a perfect example of unexpected twists. At least for me. I did not have the last part of this chapter planned. In fact, before I posted this story I already had the entire story mapped out chapter by chapter. What I did at the end of this chapter has the potential to change the mood for the rest of the story. So, I might have my work cut out for me when it comes to fitting it in with what I already have planned, but I'm looking forward to it!

Thank you for everyone who is still reading or just now finding it. A special thank you to those who leave reviews! They mean everything to me!

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen**

* * *

2x10 "The Cricket Game"

The night Emma and Mary Margaret came back, Killian thought he would have to get a room at Granny's Bed and Breakfast, but then David had invited him to stay on their couch. Emma looked curious as to why he had been staying in the loft, but she didn't ask him about it. They stayed up late talking about her time in the Enchanted Forest until she grew tired. She slept upstairs in her bed while he slept downstairs on the couch.

The next morning, she asked him to accompany her and Henry to the store so they could find some food to take to the welcome back party that would take place at Granny's tonight. He was more than willing to take a trip to the grocery store with them as her parents stayed asleep.

"Hey. Guess what. Taco shells were on sale."

When they got back from the store, Mary Margaret and David were far from asleep. They were kissing on the bed, but Emma wasn't paying close enough attention to notice.

"Apparently, tacos not a big item in the enchanted -." And then she saw her parents in bed making out. She stood there in shock for a few seconds.

"What are you guys still doing in bed? It's the middle of the afternoon," Henry said.

"The trip back was tiring and I needed to rest."

"And I needed to help her rest."

Emma quickly picked up on the inappropriateness of the situation. "Uh, let's-let's go make the tacos," she said guiding Henry to the kitchen area of the loft.

Killian joined the young boy in the kitchen, but paid close attention to Emma's interaction with her parents. She was whispering something to then, probably griping at them for making her walk in and witness what she just had seen, but very quickly she joined Killian's side.

"They seem happy to be reunited," Killian said as he started unpacking the bags of food.

"Don't start," Emma said.

"Just saying," he said. He arched his eyebrow at her.

She reached up and ruffled his hair. "Just make the damn tacos," Emma said.

"Language, Swan. There's a child in our presence," Killian said.

Henry rolled his eyes and went to work on unpacking the rest of the food.

Making sure he was quiet enough for her ears only, he whispered to her. "Making tacos has a completely different meaning now," he said. He glanced over at her parents who were trying their best to go unnoticed as they quickly put on clothes.

"Shut up."

cs

The word "Tacos" was the first thing Emma said to the crowd of people who had gathered together at Granny's. Anyone who carried importance to the family of royals was there. His invite to this reunion meant that he was important to Emma. In time, he hoped that would become more, but right now he knew he had to pace himself.

Emma had just come back from a place she believed was only fiction until a few weeks ago. She was finally reunited with her family. She had her son. As for him, he was still confused with what he wanted to do. Sure, he wanted to be a better man for Emma, but that didn't take away the past. For hundreds of years, he had wanted revenge for Milah's death. He had made it his life's mission to kill the dark one.

He had to make sure that Emma was worth giving that up.

"Hey you," she said. As she smiled at him now, he knew without a shadow of doubt, she was really worth it.

He didn't want a life of revenge. He just wanted a life that included Emma.

"Bold move inviting Regina," Killian said.

"Yeah. I just got yelled at by my parents for it. Guess I'll be experiencing a bunch of firsts in this town."

"First time walking in on your pa-."

"Don't you dare finish that," Emma said. He laughed to himself. She noticed the huge smile on his face. He got a kick out of making her feel uncomfortable. "You're different as Captain Hook."

"How so?"

"You smile more," she said.

"I'm smiling because of you, Swan," he said.

She was the one that arched an eyebrow at him this time.

"You didn't happen to invite Mr. Gold also, did you?" Killian asked changing the subject slightly.

"Nope. I stayed away from that one," she said.

"Good," he said.

The look on his face made it very obvious to Emma that Mr. Gold was not someone he liked. "Is he part of the reason you're staying at the loft?"

"Yeah. That was my own fault. I did something stupid and left myself without a home. Don't worry. I'll get a room at Granny's tonight," he said.

"Whoa. I'm not trying to kick you out, Killian," Emma said. She felt bad that she had made him feel that she was trying to get rid of him. "I just wanted you to know if you needed a friend to talk to, I'm here."

"Thank you," he said. He couldn't properly express to her how much it meant to hear her say those words, but he didn't know how. So, he started with words he knew well. "I have a past with him."

"I assumed," Emma said. She slid her glass of beer over to his side of the table. "What did he do?"

"You're so sure he did something. How do you know I didn't do anything to him?" Killian asked. He took a sip of the beer she had offered to him even though he was more of a rum drinker.

"Because I see the fight in you. You're the one trying to hold back from doing something. I think if you had done something to Gold we wouldn't be sitting here talking," Emma said.

She was only half right.

"He took someone from me, someone that I loved," he said. He took another sip of his beer. Alcohol made things easier sometimes and if he was going to tell the tale of his past with the dark one and Milah, he was going to need all the help he could get. "But that was only after I took someone from him."

She tried her best to not react, but he saw it. For a brief second there was surprise all over her face upon hearing about his not so clean past. Just as she had tried not to show it, he tried not to notice it.

"I wasn't born a pirate," Killian said. He noticed Emma's eyes drift to something behind him. He figured she didn't want to meet his eyes as he told her about his life in the other land, but he had to. Even if all they ever became was friends, she had to know what she was getting into. "It started when my br-."

"I'm sorry, Killian. I'll be right back," Emma said. Without a second skipped within, she jumped out of her seat and ran past him.

He followed her with his eyes. She was going after Regina who was trying to make a quiet exit. He couldn't be mad at her for stopping him in the middle of his sentence. When it came to Regina, he knew she had to play nice. The evil queen was part of her son's life. The both of them needed to find a way to live in this town together for Henry's sake.

His story would have to wait for another time.

He exited out the back way after a few minutes. He was happy that Emma and Mary Margaret had made their way home, but starting the beginning of what were the saddest stories of his life had done something to his mood. He was no longer willing to sit around and laugh when his heart was heavy with sadness at the moment.

He got a room at Granny's that night. The Charming family deserved to have their happiness without worrying about how he was feeling emotionally.

cs

It wasn't until days later that they crossed paths again. Their whole family was there for dinner at Granny's. He wanted to give them some space so that they wouldn't get caught up in his moping, but he could see not that they too weren't in the best of mood.

He waited until Henry went to join his grandfather's side at the bar to approach Emma and Mary Margaret sitting at one of the booths.

"Is it true? Did Regina really kill Archie?" he asked. Ruby had come into the Granny's completely distraught earlier that day and shared the news with him.

Emma nodded. "It's true. I saw it with my own eyes," she said.

"You witnessed it? And she let you live afterward?" Killian asked.

"It wasn't quite like that. I used magic to see it," Emma said.

"You have magic?" he asked. He tried to not sound excited about this discovery considering they were also talking about someone's murder, but the idea that she had magic fascinated him.

"I don't quite understand it, but yeah," she said.

Seeing that she was having a hard time accepting it, he dropped the subject of magic. "How is Henry handling it?"

"Not well," she said.

"I'm here if you need my help with anything," he said.

"Thank you," she said. She recognized her own words from the other night which reminded her of something. "I'm sorry I ran out on you when you were telling me about your history with Mr. Gold."

"It's fine, Swan. We'll leave that tale for another time where chaos isn't happening around us," he said.

"With our lives, that could take a while."

"Lucky for you, I'm a patient man."

"Oh is that so?" she asked. Right away she noticed how her tone changed. That was the thing with Killian. Even in such a saddening time such as now, he managed to bring out a playful side of her. Resting her chin in the palm of her hand, she propped up her face. "And what are you patiently waiting for?"

There were things about him that she did not know; secrets from his past, things that would frighten her, but there was one very important thing he was keeping from her that would probably frighten her the most. However, right now she was giving him the perfect opportunity to come clean about it.

"When things calm down, when there aren't curse or portals threatening our lives, there is something I would like to do," he said.

"What's that?"

"Take you out on a date."

She had been playfully going back and forth with him, but she hadn't expected him to come out and say that. "How do you know I'll say yes?" she asked.

As she bit down on her bottom lip, they both knew what her answer would be.

"Like I said, I'm a patient man."

* * *

TBC


	16. 2x11 - 2x12

Sorry it took me longer to update! This chapter is extra long so there's that to hopefully make up for the wait!  
I've been dreading having to write these two episodes just because I knew I had to keep it as close to the actual episodes as I could. With that in mind, I changed a few things in order for it (hopefully) flow better with this story. Episode eleven was actually supposed to go with the last chapter, but as I was finishing off episode ten, I saw that the chapter was running a bit long. So, I decided to move it over to this chapter because episode eleven and twelve, at least my point of view of it, were better together!

As always, reviews are very much welcomed!

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen**

* * *

2x11 "The Outsider"

If it weren't for the fact that they were burying someone who was very beloved in their town, Killian would have considered today to be a good day. In the middle of the great sadness that was today's funeral, he had made Emma smile several times. That's all he needed for his day.

Everyone was going back to the loft to pay further tribute to Archie, but Killian decided to go for a walk. While he was sad about the death that occurred, it wasn't a personal loss for him as it was for the others.

He was walking the main street of Storybrooke minding his own business when he saw Gold walking towards him. He couldn't see a way where he could avoid this run in. If the dark one wanted to speak to him, he was going to get what he wanted.

"What do you want, crocodile?" Killian asked. Day of all days he was not in the mood to have it out with his enemy. In fact, he was willing to let their past go for a chance at a brighter future. Sure, he wouldn't call him up and ask him out for drinks pretending to be friends, but he knew that if they went at each other, one of them was going to end up dead.

"Nothing more than to tell you to stay out of my way," Mr. Gold said.

"You're the one who stopped to talk to me," Killian said.

"You have a history of ruining my plans. That will not happen this time."

"How can you be so sure?" Killian asked. He felt almost as if his words were empty. He knew nothing of what the dark one had planned. How was he supposed to ruin something he did not have knowledge of?

"I've seen the way you look at the savior. You follow her around as if you were her loyal sheep dog," Gold said. He smiled proudly to himself when he saw the former pirate's jaw set tightly in anger. "If anything doesn't go my way, Emma's life will come to a tragic end."

"Why? I've left you alone. This war doesn't have to continue," Killian said. He saw that his words mean nothing to him. "Why Emma? She told me how you helped her with her magic. Why ruin that now?"

"Because unlike you, I don't care about having friends," Gold said. He spoke in between his teeth making his voice sound more threatening than it really was. "I'm about to get everything I've ever wanted and you aren't. You get to live with the knowledge and fear that I could take away the woman you love...again."

His words cut deep. Killian wanted to call him on a bluff, but he knew the dark one would not have said anything he did not mean, at least not when it came to threats. He had seen him rip out the woman he love's heart. He wouldn't let that happen again.

"What's going on here?" Belle asked. Neither of them had noticed that she had come all the way from the library to the corner they were standing at.

"Nothing," the dark one said. He looked at him. "Isn't that right, pirate?"

He knew that if didn't agree, he would make him pay. "That's right," he said. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and walked away from the couple.

"Pirate?" he heard Belle asking Rumpelstiltskin.

Killian could only imagine that she was starting to piece together their one encounter from the Enchanted Forrest. He had broken into her cell and then followed it with knocking her out. It wasn't a pleasant memory, but perhaps it wasn't damaging enough to completely ruin everything. Maybe there was a chance she would listen to him.

Rumpelstiltskin may not care about having friends, but he cared about Belle. And she cared about him. Killian was going to do everything in his power to change that.

cs

Since the curse had broken, Killian had tried his best to stay away from anything that reminded him of his old life. It had been easy with the Dark One, but several of Captain Hook's crew members were around town. None of them had sought him out. He figured that they, like himself, had found some sort of new way to live because of the curse. As pirates, they had done some horrendous things. Who was he to grant them out of their second chance?

Then there was William Smee waiting for him in his room at Granny's. He told him how The Dark One had forced him across the town line and he still had his memories.

"This is what he meant when he said he was about to get everything he wanted. He wants to cross the town line."

"He has magic here. Why would he want to cross a world where he doesn't have magic?" Smee asked.

"I don't know," he said. Killian had his guesses but he didn't dare voice them in fear that Smee was a rat that would go back and tell Gold their entire conversation. "Why go against the dark one and tell me this?"

"You were my captain. You have my loyalty for as long as I live," Smee said.

"Consider that loyalty pardoned, Smee," Killian said. Captain Hook wouldn't have given it a second thought if one of his crew members died because of their loyalty to him. This new side of him found a value in life. He couldn't let Smee blindly follow him only to lead to his death.

"But -."

"Live your own life. Be free of the debt you think you owe me," Killian said.

"Captain, what will you do now?" Smee asked as he watched Hook head for the door just minutes after he'd entered.

"I'm going to take away everything the dark one's ever loved."

cs

He didn't know what had caused Belle to go to the docks but he was glad that she did. Not only had she managed to find a very alive Archie, but she found his ship. He took a moment to thank the Gods for allowing his home to come back to him, but that moment of gratitude was short lived when Belle spotted him standing just a few feet away from her.

"Rumple told me about your past," she said. She took a step closer to him though he could tell she wasn't as brave as she was letting on. There was hesitance in her walk. "When I realized you were a pirate. I remembered you coming into my cell. You wanted him dead. Isn't it enough that you stole his wife? I'm sorry that she died, but that isn't his fault!"

And so he told her about Milah. About how it had been her precious Rumple who had killed her. She was of course didn't want to believe him.

"He would do anything...anything to hold on to his power. Why do you think anyone who's ever gotten close to him has either run away or been killed? What makes you think you're any different?" Killian asked. He saw fear in her eyes and he could only hope that was fear for her own life if she stayed with Rumpelstiltskin and not that she feared him. "Tell me something, Belle. Why would you want to fight for a man like that?"

"Because I still see good in him. Because I believe he's changed. Because his heart is true," she said.

"As much as I appreciate those words, I'm going to need you to step back, Belle."

It was Rumpelstiltskin's voice that echoed across the deck of the ship as he made his way on. He looked directly at Hook with hate so deep in his eyes.

"What magic are you gonna hide behind today?" Killian asked.

Gold laughed. "Oh, no. Not magic."

Before he even got a chance to see the cane, Gold had hit him across the jaw with it. It was a blow hard enough to make him see spots. The Dark One was using all his force to cause as much damage as he could. Killian was powerless to stop him.

"Rumple! Hey, let's go. Let's go." This came from Belle.

"No, not yet, Belle."

"You don't need to do this! This war between you has to stop!"

"You're wasting your breath, Belle. He can't resist. He has to prove that he's not a coward," Killian said.

"You may want to turn away, Belle. This isn't going to be pretty," Rumple said. The entire time he hadn't stopped hitting him, but this time he did it with more force.

"Do it! Kill me!" Killian yelled. He turned to Belle. "He has to show you how powerful he is."

"No, Rumple! This is what he wants, to destroy every bit of good in you," Belle said.

"Rip my heart out. Kill me like you did Milah and then I'll finally be reunited with her," Killian said. He was bluffing. He didn't really want to die, but he had to show Belle who the dark one really was.

His plan to turn Belle against him did not work. She had used her words to pull him off of Killian. The Crocodile had walked off his ship with Belle hand in hand.

cs

What magic are you going to hide behind today. Funny enough it was his own words that illuminated Killian on how he would handle the dark one. Since turning Belle against him did not work, he had to go further than that.

So, he watched and waited. He wanted to make sure the dark one was on the other side of the town line where he wouldn't be able to use magic. Then he would shoot him.

Rumpelstiltskin and Bell took their time in saving goodbye. Hook was growing impatient standing between trees making sure he stayed hidden until the appropriate time.

They held hands each on one side of the red line. They leaned in to kiss and that's when angry overcame Killian. He wouldn't let the dark one have his happy ending. He wouldn't let him live.

So, he fired the gun.

He was aiming for Rumpelstiltskin, but it was Belle would had gotten shot.

"Belle!" Mr. Gold yelled as he set her down on the ground.

"Who's Belle?" she asked.

Killian then realized that when he shot her, she had fallen forward across the line. He had intended for her to get hurt much less forced into her cursed self.

"No. No. No. No."

"Her memory," Killian whispered.

"What you've done cannot be undone," Gold said.

"It was supposed to be you!" Killian yelled.

This angered his enemy. Using magic, he created a fireball. However, a speeding car stopped him from throwing it.

Killian didn't see the car until the very last moment. He tried to get out of the way, but he wasn't fast enough.

The last thing he felt was pain from the moving car before he blacked out.

* * *

2x12 "In The Name of the Brother"

When he came to, there were police sirens. Emma. She couldn't see him like this. He was so ashamed with what he had done.

He tried to drag himself up so that he could leave before anyone saw him, but his movements proved to be in vein when he pain brought him back to the ground.

"Killian?" she asked. She quickly rushed over to his side. She was worried about him and he just wanted her to look away. "What happen?"

"No. No. Please don't," Killian said.

She mistook his shame for fear that she would move him and cause him more pain. "Killian, we have to move you. You need to go to the hospital. I think your ribs are broken," she said.

"I'm going to kill him!" Gold yelled. He was walking straight towards him with his cane.

"Do it!" Killian yelled.

"What?" Emma asked. She had never known Killian to be suicidal.

Just as he had done earlier, Gold used his cane to hurt Killian. Except this time, Emma was there to come to his defense.

"Gold, are you insane?"

"Yes, I am!"

Emma's father was there to help her. "You can't do that!"

"I can if you let me go."

"You don't want her to see that," Emma said referring to Belle.

"I'm a stranger to her."

"Murder is a bad first impression."

"What would Belle want you to do?" David asked.

As soon as the ambulance came everyone paid attention to the driver in the unknown car. Everyone except Emma that was. She stayed with him. She held his hand as she saw his face distort in pain. "Killian, why does he hate you so much?" she asked.

The answer to her question was much more complicated than just a conversation on the side of the road as he bled out. So, he gave her the short answer. "I shot Belle," he said.

He heard her gasp and felt her hand loosen her grip on his. Then his world was black again.

cs

He woke up in a hospital room with Emma sitting at his bed side. "You shouldn't be here. There was that man in the other car," Killian said. He turned his head away from her so he wouldn't look at her. He feared that he would see fear in her eyes.

"He's been taking care of," Emma said. She reached over for his hand.

That's when Killian realized that his hook was missing. She may be here offering support to her wounded friend, but she was still scared of him.

"Why did you shoot Belle?" Emma asked.

For the first time since he'd woken up, he looked at her. What he saw was worst than fear. Emma looked compassionate. If he told her about his past with the dark one and how he had really meant to shoot him, he knew she would be upset, but she would forgive him in time. She was a forgiving person.

The closer he got to her, the more danger she was in when it came to the crocodile. He now knew that this back and forth with Rumpelstiltskin was no where near ending. Although it had been an accident, he had shot Belle. The Dark One was never going to forgive him now.

So he would lie to keep her safe.

"I wanted him to suffer," he said.

She hid her anxiety poorly. "Why?" she asked.

"I stole his wife from him back in my pirating days," he said. Her eyes grew wide at hearing this. Whether it was from hearing that Mr. Gold was once married or that Killian stole his wife from him. "She asked me to take her away from her life with him. We were in love. We were happy."

"What happen?"

"The crocodile ripped out her heart. He killed her right in front of me," he said.

"What does that have to do with Belle?"

"I wanted to hurt his heart. Belle's just where he keeps it. She is his weakness now," Killian said. He set his jaw tighter hoping it gave him an angry look on his face.

Emma stayed silent for several moments until she stood up from her spot on the side of his bed. "This isn't you, Killian."

"That's where you're wrong, love. For the first time since the curse has broken, I am finally starting to feel like myself," he said harshly.

He wished that it was as simple as pushing her away, but he saw her head spinning around. She didn't completely buy his act. "I'll be back to check on you later," she said. She walked towards the door of the room.

"It might be better that you don't," he said in another attempt to push her away.

Slowly she turned back around to face him. She was upset with him for what he was trying to do, but he was still her friend. "See you later, Killian."

cs

She kept to her word and came back. When she did, he was almost in the exact same position that she had left him in. She stood at the foot of his bed waiting for him to talk to her or at least acknowledge that she had entered the room. He did neither.

"This is the part, if you were still my friend, I'd tell you that the driver of the other car made it. Luckily he didn't see anything out of the ordinary," she said.

She kept her voice as tranquil as she could, but she was getting frustrated with him quickly. She was there standing with him, talking to him after he tried to kill someone, but he wouldn't even look at her.

She waited after a few minutes of awkward stillness to speak again. "I understand why you did it. He took someone you love away and you wanted him to feel that pain," she said.

He wanted to yell at her just to tell that what he did was not okay, but he didn't. He kept up his silence facade to mask anything he was really feeling.

"I just thought that you were a different person," she said.

As much as it troubled him to hear how disappointed she was in him, he was happy that it had come to that. This way he could take care of the dark one without putting her life in danger.

"I'm exhausted. I'm going home," she said. She hoped that would stir something inside of him, but it didn't. "Stay out of trouble, Hook."

* * *

TBC


	17. 2x13 - 2x15

There are several things about these next few episodes for this chapter that I was not quite sure about. I don't want to bring them to question and risk spoiling what happens in this chapter. So, I'm adding them in the author's note at the end.

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen**

* * *

2x13 "Tiny"

"I don't know where Cora is," Killian said. He had been woken up from his somewhat peaceful night of sleep. In sleep, he could forget that he had shot someone or that he had to push away the woman he loved in order to protect her from his enemy.

"But you know where your ship is," Mary Margaret said. She and her husband were giving him matching judgmental looks. They too hated him. It was for the best.

So he took them to the docks. At some point Leroy had joined them, but it didn't go unnoticed that Emma wasn't anywhere to be found.

"I guess Swan is still angry at me," he said as they approached the docks.

"Emma's not here because Emma is not here," David said.

"What exactly are you saying, your highness?" Killian asked.

"She and Henry left with Mr. Gold to find his son," Mary Margaret said.

"She's alone with the crocodile?" Killian asked. He forgot in that moment he were supposed to be his villainous self and not the man that only cared for Emma Swan. "You trust him with her?"

"You're the one who shot someone. Stop being so judgmental," Leroy said.

He held his tongue from saying anything mean to the dwarf.

"Where's the ship, Hook. Come on. Archie told us. It's shielded somehow isn't it?" David asked. However his words were nothing resembling questions. All their shared moments of friendship were long forgotten now.

"Aye," Hook said. He slowly walked to where he knew his ship was docked. "Cora's may have stolen my ship to get here, but she won't be here."

"Well, maybe she left something behind that will tell us where she went."

Just as he has suspected, the evil queen's mother was nowhere to be found. She was smarter than that. However, someone else was. Cora had left behind someone in a cage. The face was unfamiliar to Killian, but it was clear that this person was a hostage. Maybe he would come in handy for them. He may be pretending to be his villainous former self, but in reality he wanted what was best for Emma and her family.

The man's name was Anton. Any hope that he would be useful to them was gone as soon as he saw David. He yelled at the the prince angrily.

In a moment of weakness, Killian decided that he needed to get away. As long as he was with David and Mary Margaret, they wouldn't allow him to go after Rumpelstiltskin which was exactly what he needed to do if he was going to save Emma.

cs

He hide away from them to make sure he was out of their view. It was in that hiding that he found a Queen of Hearts card on the floor. He picked it up and then threw it back down. This had to be a message from Cora.

But he was wrong.

"Hello, Hook."

"Regina."

"Expecting my mother? The one you were supposed to kill?" she asked.

"We already discussed this," he said.

"It's your lucky day. She and I have made amends."

"And you're here to thank me? How sweet?" he asked. He let his words flow out smoothly, but inside he was worrying about what this could mean for Emma's family.

They went back and forth. Regina wanted to know if they had found the ship. So, he told her about David's encounter with her mother's unwilling guest. "This is just the distraction we need."

He played along. "That it is, dear."

* * *

2x14 "Manhattan"

There was nothing comfortable about what Killian was doing. He stayed the night at Regina's mansion. Then in the morning, her mother showed up. There was so many words they didn't say. They didn't talk about Regina wanting to murder her mother or that she used him to attempt to do it. Or the fact that Cora had double crossed him forcing him into her daughter's curse.

No, they didn't talk about any of that.

"What is it, sweetie?" Cora asked Regina sitting down next to her on the bed. Killian stood at the door listening as they went about it as if they hadn't all betrayed each other at one point.

"It's Henry. Emma left town with Gold, and she took him with her."

"And you didn't stop them?"

"I didn't know until after they had gone."

"I'm sure he's safe. And as soon as Gold's done, Henry will be back."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Killian said getting in the middle of their conversation.

"What are you talking about, Hook?" Regina asked. Her voice was covered with concern for her young son.

"The dark one threatened Emma. When he realized how much she meant to me, he threatened to kill her," he said.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Regina asked. She angry now.

"When was the last time you showed any concern for Emma's well being?" he asked. She just smiled in her conniving way. "If Rumpelstiltskin has left town, then he's powerless. I can kill him. I won't fail this time."

"This time?" Cora asked with an arched eyebrow.

"He tried to leave a few days ago. I tried to shoot him as he crossed the town line, but I shot Belle instead."

"That would explain why you're on this side with us instead of with the Charmings. They don't trust you anymore," Regina said.

"I don't need them to trust me. I just want to keep Emma safe."

"You're not going anywhere," Cora said.

"We have to save Henry," Regina said.

"That's not the wisest choice right now," the mother said.

"I deserve my vengeance!" Killian almost yelled.

"You're right. You do, and with the dark one gone, we can search for the one magical item that can actually kill him here, his dagger."

cs

They found the map. Regina had taken on the task of visiting Belle in the hospital, but it had proven to be useful. They had gone to the library and found the map drawn by the dark one. All he had to do was put it up against a map of Storybrooke.

"I give you the location of the dagger," Killian said. Saying those words out loud meant more to him than he thought they would. In killing the Dark one, not only did he ensure that Emma was safe, but he would end a 200 year old long feud. Milah's murder would be avenged.

"Well done, Hook," Cora said. As soon as the words slip past her mouth, she yanks the paper away. "We'll take it from here."

Obviously he was not included in the "we" she spoke about.

"No! You promised me!" he yelled to Cora who was quickly making an exit with her daughter by her side.

Regina watched as Cora flung Hook across the room as if he weight less than a feather. "The dagger's much too powerful to be wasted on you," she said in Hook's direction.

"So, is this what it was all about? Getting Rumple's dagger so you could obtain his dark powers?"

"If we possess the dagger, we control the dark one. We can keep Henry safe. And when he returns, we can command him to kill Snow White, Prince Charming, and Emma."

* * *

2x15 "The Queen Is Dead"

"Give me my hook back!"

"No!" David yelled. He was not ready to trust the pirate yet. "You shot Belle! You're dangerous!"

"What happen with Belle was not supposed to happen," Killian said. He sat down at the end of David's desk which the prince immediately made a face at. "I'm in love with your daughter. My actions may have ruined any chances of her returning those feelings, but it doesn't change how I feel. I will protect her with everything in me. I'm not a danger to you or your family."

David looked at him and thought about the couple of weeks after the curse had broken. He had been friends with him. He owned him a chance to explain himself. "Why do you want the hook back so bad?"

Killian knew he had to lie. He couldn't tell him that he planned on stabbing the dark one in the heart with it. "It's a part of me. I don't feel whole without it," Hook said. From the sympathetic look he was getting from David, he knew his words had gotten to him.

"You're not going to try and shoot someone?" David asked.

On this, he could be truthful. "I promise I won't kill anyone."

cs

"For the last time, Smee, you can't go with me. Your hat will only allow for one person to cross the town line with their memories," Killian said. After he had gotten his hook back from David, he knew he had to do something about his memories.

He had found his former crew member at Granny's eating lunch. Funny enough, he couldn't recall a time during the curse where Smee was ever a regular. It must have been something Regina had done to keep him and the people he was once closest to far away from each other.

"How are you sure it will work on you?" Smee asked. He handed his captain his red hat.

There were more than a few pair of eyes watching them now. Well, they were watching him. News travelled fast in this small town. Everyone must know what he did to Belle and they were judging him for it.

"I don't," Killian said taking the hat. He knew the story behind the hat. His grandmother had made it for him when he was just a boy. Not a year later, she passed on. Smee may have pledged his loyalty to him, but he knew the hat meant a great deal of importance to him. "I swear to you, I will return this as soon as I am back."

cs

It took Hook getting on his ship and stirring off into the ocean for him to realize how much he missed it. This ship had been his life, his home for so long. He made a promise to himself that when all this was over and he was back in Storybrooke, he would not neglect his precious ship again.

The hat worked. He still knew who he was. His cursed self had memories of watching movies when he was younger. They weren't true, but still those movies left him with the imprint that he should be careful in New York. He had been a thief himself after all. So, he kept it tucked away inside his jacket where no New Yorker would be able to steal it.

The map had worked also. He saw the group of people he searched for across the street. Emma and the Dark One walked a couple of feet behind Henry and a grown man Killian could only assume was Baelfire. Henry was the kind of kid that made friends wherever he went. Of course he would make friends with Mr. Gold's son. He watched as the four of them walked into a building.

This was his shot. This was his chance to rid the world of Rumpelstiltskin. Looking down at the poisoned tip of his hook, he walked into the building.

"Well, maybe he just needs some time. I don't know," Emma was saying. She was right there standing between him and the crocodile. She turned back and saw him. "Killian, what are you doing here?"

"Sorry, Emma," he said.

She saw the look in his eyes right before he walked past her and shoved Rumpelstiltskin against the room divider and stabbed him with his hook. "Ticktock. Time's up, crocodile," he said.

"Killian, stop!" Emma yelled.

He ignored her. "You took Milah. My love, my happiness. And for that, I now take your life," he said.

Emma could see now that he wasn't going to listen to her. So, she grabbed the nearest heavy object and hit him over the head with it knocking him out.

cs

His hands were tied. That was the first thing he realized when he started to come back to. He was in a dark room with not much space to move around. It dawned on him that Emma had been the one to hit him with something over the head. That lingering spark of friendship and understanding that had been there in the hospital room after he had shot Belle was gone. She was taking Rumpelstiltskin's side in this.

With nothing but time and darkness to fill his space, Killian was left to wonder how he had gotten to a place where the woman he loved now hated him.

* * *

TBC

Author's note: So there were a few things I was not sure about. I even re-watched the Hook scenes for this episode over and over again to see if I missed anything. Maybe those things are mentioned later episodes, but I honestly can't did Hook get from Storybrooke to Manhattan. Emma mentions in episode that he used his boat and a map, but how did he know where exactly he would find them? When he asked Cora where Rumple had gone, she didn't know either.

1) How did Hook get from Storybrooke to Manhattan. Emma mentions in episode that he used his boat and a map, but how did he know where exactly he would find them? When he asked Cora where Rumple had gone, she didn't know either.

2) What poison did Hook use to lace his hook with when he stabbed Rumple? My immediate thought was that it was Squid Ink, but we see in season 4 that Poseidon doesn't give him the squid ink after all. So, when Rumple says the poison is from another world, do they ever explain what it was exactly?


	18. 2x16 - 2x19

I made you guys wait almost a week for a short chapter. I'm horrible. I know.

Thank you to everyone who let me know that the poison was dreamshade. Once everyone started leaving comments about how they explained it when David got hit by it, I remembered! Funny enough, that was one of my guesses (the other being squid ink), but I didn't want to put it just in case I was wrong!

100 reviews! That's completely insane! Here's to hopefully reaching 150!

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen**

* * *

2x16 "The Miller's Daughter"

He wasn't sure how much time passed before the door of the room he was in was opened. Right away he recognized Emma's silhouette, but she still turned on the light. He could finally see he had been stuffed into some sort of closet.

"Hello, Hook," she said. He still couldn't get used to her calling him by his less than friendly moniker.

"Is he dead yet?" Killian asked.

"What did you use to poison him?" Emma asked.

"Dreamshade," he said. There was no point in keeping that information from her. She wouldn't find a cure in time to save him. "It's not from this world."

She stood there with her hands on her hip. She knew he wasn't going to tell her how to help save the man he was trying to kill so she didn't even bother. "We're taking your ship back to Storybrooke," she said.

That's when he saw that she held his map in her hand. She had searched his person when she had tied him up. "The hat. Smee's hat. Did you take it?"

She made a mental note that if things ever got better between them, she would ask about his crew member. "The beanie. That's how you are keeping your memories," she said putting the pieces together.

"Don't take it away," he practically begged with her.

She hadn't seen this side of him in what felt like ages. In reality, it was just last week where he had been her friend. He had shown her his vulnerability time and time again. Even more when he had just been Killian Jones without his memories of Captain Hook.

He saw the thoughts her mind was taking her to. "You're thinking about taking it away, aren't you?" he asked. When she didn't give him an answer to his question, he continued. He would use his words to provoke her into hating him further. "It would be easier for you if I was back to my cursed self. I was a coward who didn't want anything other than to be with you. Is that what you want?"

Maybe it's what he really wanted too. Emma and the group were taking his ship back to Storybrooke. There was a chance, although small, that the crocodile had magic there that would save his life. If he forgot about Captain Hook, he would forget about his feud with Rumpelstiltskin. Of course, he knew he would still have to deal with the dark one wanting to kill him. Going back to his cursed self really didn't help him, but still he waited to hear what Emma had to say.

"I want my friend back," she said. She moved closer to him. She was going to take the hat away from him, he was sure of it. She bent down so that his face was merely inches away from hers. "But if I do that to you, than I'm no better than Regina for cursing the town," she said.

"Oh," he said. He wasn't sure how he felt about her decision not to take away his memories. On one side, he was happy that she would keep his memories, but on the other side, they were a burden on their friendship.

"Or you...for what you did to Belle," Emma said.

He knew that if he told her the truth about what he really meant to happen the night Belle was shot, it wouldn't matter. What happened had happened. There was nothing he could do to change that.

"I guess asking you to join the dark side is a bit of a stretch then, isn't it?" he asked. He knew that would put an end to their conversation.

"I guess asking you not to follow us back to Storybrooke is a bit of stretch then too?" she asked.

"I'll give you a head start," he said.

She shook her head. "See you later, Hook."

* * *

2x17 "Welcome to Storybrooke"

Empty space was all he had here. Emma was gone. He wasn't sure how long ago she had left him. They were probably on their way back to Storybrooke. Or maybe they were already there.

It really didn't matter. They wouldn't find a way to cure the effects of the nightshade. He knew first hand what that poison did. It was only fitting that the man he hated the most died by the same toxin the man he loved most had died from.

He thought about Liam for a brief moment. Most times he wouldn't grant himself the memory of his brother. It was too painful. But down here, alone, once a thought entered his mind, there was nothing to distract him from going there. So, he let himself wonder what his brother would think of him now. All his theories came with the same realization; his brother would not have approved of his lifestyle.

He would have done anything to have stopped his brother's death. Now death was the only way to stop his enemy.

At some point, he would begin to try and figure out a way to get back home, to Storybrooke. However, before he did that, he would have to figure out how to become the right man for Emma Swan again and a man his brother would be proud of.

* * *

2x18 "Selfless, Brave, and True"

As much as he loved that Emma was far from a damsel in distress and strong, right now he wished she had cut him some slack on the rope she had tied his wrists with. He was using all his strength to try and free himself, but his attempts only served to make him bleed.

"I really don't like you right now, Swan," he said to the air.

The door to the room was opened. His first thought was that it was Emma, but he knew better. She had far more things on her plate to spare time and come rescue him, especially when she had been the one to tie him up in the first place. The lights to the dark room came on.

"Hello?" he asked.

A woman with caramel color skin stood at the doorway. She looked at him, taking in his appearance. "Captain Hook?" she asked. The end of her lip reached up into a smile.

"I don't recognize you from Storybrooke," Killian said.

"That's because I'm not from there," she said. She picked up a stapler that was on one of the shelves. He knew she was going to bring it down with force to knock him out. If he had a dollar for every time he had been hit since the curse had been broken, he would be a wealthy man. "But you're going to help me once we get there."

* * *

2x19 "Lacey"

He woke up in a moving truck tied to a chair with his mouth covered so he couldn't make a sound. He couldn't see because it was dark, but he didn't feel the weight of his hook so that probably meant it was gone. Whoever had taken him, had taken his hook also.

He was angry to say the very least. When it had been Emma who had tied him up, he didn't mind it because it had been her. This time, he don't know who was the culprit so his patience with her was growing thin.

The truck came to a stop. There were voices coming from outside but he couldn't hear exactly what they were saying until the opened the back of the truck.

"Because If there's one person you can always count on to do your dirty work...it's a pirate."

It was the woman who had walked into the storage room alongside a man he did not recognize. He may not know who they are, but they knew him. And they had plans for him that he was sure he would not like.

* * *

TBC

Author's Note: So, I had to find a way to explain why Hook was still in the storage room three days later so that Tamara could capture him. Honestly, I found it unrealistic in the show. Since we never actually saw Hook in the storage room, it left me to imagine the room was just a tiny bit bigger than a closet with a lock. That being said, how did he not get out? He's freaking Captain Hook...with a freaking Hook! Anyway, just my opinion on that matter. I changed it up a little so that Killian wasn't mentally ready to chase after Emma.


	19. 2x20 - 2x21

Warning: there aren't any Emma and Killian scenes in this chapter, but in all fairness, there wasn't any in the next few episodes and I didn't know how to add some without completely messing with what I had planned. However, someone finds out about Gold threatening Emma's life. That will come to play in the next couple of episodes.

Reviews are always welcome!

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen**

* * *

2x20 "The Evil Queen"

Killian Jones hated failing. When he had been Captain Hook, he simply would kill anyone who would get in the way of what he wanted. That would be a great solution for his problem right now except that the dark one was not easy to kill.

So he made a deal with the man and woman named Greg and Tamara. He would help the man find his father in return, they would help him kill his enemy.

"Why the bloody hell do you think I'd be able to help you find your father?" Killian asked.

"Because you know the woman that took him. Regina," Greg said. He held up his hook. "Do we have a deal?"

cs

He found Regina in her office. He fed her lies about betraying Greg and Tamara. He was double crossing her by making her think he was double crossing them. He had come too far to let something as simple as betrayal, something he had done many times already, stop him. The Dark One needed to die and right now those two were the ones who looked like they would help him.

"Why should I trust you?" she asked him.

"I took up with your mother for a reason," he said. He was telling her what she wanted to hear. Truthfully, he was still mad at Cora for betraying him a second time. "Perhaps the three of us could reestablish our alliance."

Right away he saw sadness in Regina's eyes. "My mother died," she said.

Her words took him by surprise. "Well, that is sad news indeed. I'm sorry," he said. "She will be missed. I will tell you this, Regina -. I knew her well enough to know that what she wanted most in the world was to see you win."

He didn't know why he was trying to offer her, of all people, words of encouragement. Sure, they had chatted on friendlier terms when Emma and Mary Margaret had been in the Enchanted Forrest, but they were far from friends.

"If I win Emma loses," Regina said. She arched her eyebrow at him. "I know you had feelings for her in the past, Hook."

"Those feelings won't get in the way," he said lying. He put on his best angry face. "I tried to protect her, but she's made it very clear who's side she is on."

"Protect her? From who?"

"From the crocodile. He threatened her life when he realized I cared about her. I went after him to protect her," he said. That part was true.

"Look where that got you," she said.

"Emma bringing him back to Storybrooke only shows me that she doesn't care about what I want. I'm simply returning the lack of affection," he said. He wasn't sure if she was convinced. "I only care about myself now."

However, his words proved to be enough for her. She showed him the beans she had in her office. She told him about her escape plan. She gave him hope that with the total destruction of Storybrooke, the dark one would die, but it was her plans for Emma that really sealed the deal on how he felt about Regina.

cs

His anger was only fueled when he realized that he was the distraction so that Regina could get the weapon she was looking for. Luckily he was rewarded with the look of absolute shock on her face when she realized that he had double crossed her and left her without her power.

"The cuff. You gave me this," she said.

"No, you rather insisted," Killian said.

"You knew I would want it."

"True. They rigged it with something that blocks your magic. It's impressive."

"So little bitty Owen does grown up magic on his own now," Regina said.

"It's not magic. Actually, this is something much better-science," Greg said.

Killian listened as they went back and forth for a while, each of them trying to prove themselves better than the other.

"And what are you?" Regina asked.

"I'm just a man. A man on a mission," Greg said.

"And all this just to try to find your father. I already told you, I don't know whe-."

"Yes, you do. But that's not my mission," he said. This statement grabbed Killian's attention.

"Then what is?"

He smiled at her. "I'm not telling you," he said. He looked at Tamara. "Bag her."

* * *

2x21 "Second Star to the Right"

"Whatever they're offering you, it's not worth it."

Killian had helped Greg hide Regina away while Tamara had spent the night resting as part of her cover story. He didn't ask questions about what her cover story was. Whatever it was, it wasn't as important as ending the dark one's life.

"Well, considering they're offering to have me kill Rumpelstiltskin, I'd say it is," Killian said.

"And you actually trust them?" Regina asked. She laughed to herself. "You don't even know who you're working for."

"At least they didn't threaten to kill Emma and this entire town," he said.

"So, it's about Emma?" she asked.

He leaned down so that his mouth was next to her ear. "Haven't you learned, it's always about Emma," he said.

Regina let out a disgusted grunt.

Before she could tell him all the reasons he wasn't right for the savior, Greg came in with a machine rolling in next to him. "Good morning, Regina."

"This part of your mission?"

"No. No, this is -. This is personal. See, this is about my father."

"I already told you, he left town."

"Yet he never came to finds his only son," Greg said.

He was going to torture Regina. Killian didn't want to stand there and just watch. Outside of his quest for vengeance with Rumpelstiltskin, torture and pain was no longer part of his life. "When you're interested in killing Rumpelstiltskin and not torturing the queen, find me."

cs

He didn't belong in Storybrooke anymore. At least, that was what he was convincing himself as he sat at the counter of Granny's diner. He saw the look of disgust given to him as he entered the building.

"He shot Belle," someone whispered as he took a seat.

"Mr. Gold is going to kill him," another person whispered.

Ruby pretended to be counting money at the counter, but they both knew she was aware of his presence. In another life, they had been friends. They teased each other and laughed if one of them did something ridiculous. Even after the curse had broken, they had shared lighter conversations. Had he ruined any chance of friendship with her in the last week because of his behavior?

"Am I at risk of running into Rumpelstiltskin here?" he asked. He had seen him with Belle from afar. Tamara had filled him in on the whole Lacey deal. He hated that the dark one had gotten a second chance at happiness. But he still had hope that he could put that to an end.

"He left about twenty minutes ago," Ruby said.

"Thanks," he said.

Ruby left for a quick few seconds only to return with a glass full of rum. "Here, I think you could use this," she said.

He laughed and drank some. "Does this mean I haven't lost your friendship yet?"

"I think I've lived long enough to know that sometimes life is a little too complicated to let people go that easily," Ruby said.

He took another gulp of the rum. "Have I lost her?" he asked.

"Who? Emma?" she asked.

"Who else would I be speaking about?"

She rolled her eyes. Back in the Enchanted Forest, she had heard about the infamous Captain Hook. He was a thief who slept with women and occasionally caused trouble. Right now, she only saw the causing trouble part. This man only had eyes for Emma. "I think Emma just needs some time," she said. She didn't know what he knew. His enemy's son was Emma's son's father. That complicated things.

He saw a shift in her eyes that was a little too suspicious for his liking. "What is it?" he asked.

She thought about telling him, but decided not to. Killian Jones with a pirate past was much too unpredictable. She did not want to run the risk that he would get mad and destructive when he learned of this new revelation. "You really should talk to Emma," she said. She moved along to another customer.

He finished the last of his rum then whispered only to himself, "Yeah, well, I don't think Emma wants to talk to me."

* * *

TBC


	20. 2x22

Thank you to the 200+ people following this story!

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty**

* * *

2x22 "And Straight on 'til Morning"

Killian had been wrong to put all his trust in Tamara and Greg. They wanted to destroy Storybrooke. In that, they were going to destroy Emma. They didn't care about their own lives. They were willing to die for their cause. He was not. He wanted to live. Most of all, he wanted to give Emma the chance to live.

So, when Tamara and Greg went back into hiding after they activated the trigger, the former pirate made his way to the loft where he had once lived for a short amount of time. There he would reunite with Emma and her family. He hadn't seen her since New York when she had locked him away in the storage closet so he was not expecting a warm welcome.

The door to the loft was open. His first thought was that maybe Rumpelstiltskin was there hurting them. After all, Killian did hurt him and Belle. The Dark did not go back on his threats. If that was the case, he hated that he put their lives at risk.

However, that wasn't the case. He heard Regina and then he heard Emma yelling back at her.

This made Henry upset. "We have to work together," he said.

"I'd say the lad has a point," Killian said as he walked into the room without an invitation.

David's fist was in his face before he could defend himself. "You lied!" the prince yelled.

"About what?" Killian asked.

"You said you wouldn't hurt any of my family," David said.

"And I didn't. I kept my word."

"You put my daughter and grandson in danger when you went after Gold in New York," he said.

"Technically, they were already in danger in New York," Regina said. She saw the look in Hook's eyes. He was begging her not to mention anything about Gold's threats to Emma's life.

But The Savior was one to quickly pick up on looks. "What is she talking about?"

"Something that can be discussed later. Right now there are more pressing issues," Killian said.

"Like you working with Greg and Tamara? Regina told us you're working with them to get your revenge," Emma said.

"Well, that was before they told me I had to die to get it," Killian said. If was only half the truth. No, he did not want to die, but it was Emma's demise that he was really worried about.

"We don't have time for this," Emma said. He heard the words she really meant. She didn't have time for him. "We have a real problem."

"Which is why I'm here. 'Cause staring death in the face has made me realize if there's one thing I want more than my revenge. It's my life. So, should we start this thing now and then resume bickering?"

"There is no stopping it. The best thing I can do is slow it down, but that will only delay the inevitable."

"It'll give us the time we need."

"The time for what?"

"Steal back the beans. Use them to get everyone back into the Enchanted Forest before Storybrooke is gone."

"How? We don't know where Greg and Tamara are."

"Well, I do," Killian said. The attention was shifted back to him. "I can help."

"Help yourself, you'll take them and leave us all behind. Why should we trust you?" Emma asked.

In that moment, he wanted to shake Emma Swan with his words and tell her that he would never do that to her. He wanted to tell her how much she meant to him and how much he would make sure no harm ever came to her.

Her father beat him before he could say anything. "No, we won't have to. I'll go with him. If he tries anything; I'll shoot him in the face."

"Quite hostile, aren't we?"

"Just being clear."

"I'll take Regina to slow down the diamond, give you guys time," Emma said.

A few emotional goodbyes later, everyone was on their way.

cs

"What did Regina mean when she said they were already in danger in New York?" David asked.

He and Killian were packed in his truck together trying to find Tamara and Greg. There was no where else for him to go so he could avoid his questions. "You caught that, did you?"

"Yes. I did. So, explain it to me," David said.

"You were right when you said I put your family in danger," Killian said. He didn't want to think about what could have happened if the Dark One hadn't needed Emma's help. He would have ended her life, and the lives of her family, for sure. "When Rumpelstiltskin realized how much Emma meant to me, he threatened her."

David decided to just listen. He already knew that Emma was someone Killian cared for. As much as the pirate in Captain Hook bothered him, he owed it the brief friendship they had to not be completely disgusted at the idea of him and his daughter.

"When I found out Rumpelstiltskin was crossing the town line, I saw this as an opportunity to end the two hundred war between us. I knew he would be powerless. So, I allowed myself to believe that I could actually win," Killian said.

"But you shot Belle instead."

"I didn't mean to. I talked to her a few times. I liked her. I didn't want to hurt her."

"When Emma and Henry left for New York you should have told me what was going on," David said.

"What would you have done? You can't cross the town line without losing your memories."

"I could have warned them," he said.

"I did what I thought was best. My apologies if you don't agree," Killian said.

"Don't ever put my family in danger again."

cs

Hook managed to get one of the beans from Greg and Tamara, but of course David ripped it right out of his hand. The trust that he thought he was rebuilding with Emma's father wasn't as big as he thought it was.

"You're shot," Killian said.

"I'm fine," he said. David had taken off his jacket as they arrived at Granny's. There was blood on his upper arm. "We have the beans."

Everyone was happy to hear the news.

"You did it?" Emma asked coming in just minutes after them.

"Yeah."

"You okay?" she asked noticing the cut on his arm.

"Oh, it's...grazed. It's fine."

"Okay, let's get going. Henry?" Emma asked for her son.

"Where's my mom?" the young boy asked. He looked behind his birth mother to the door as if he was expecting Regina to walk right through it.

"Regina can hold off the self-destruct device long enough for us to escape, but..." Emma said. She didn't finish her sentence.

"But what?"

With one look that Emma gave to Mary Margaret, they all knew. "She won't survive."

"No. No."

"Henry, I'm sorry. I promised her I'd get you to safety."

"But we can't do this. She's family. We don't leave family behind."

"I know, but this is what she wants. We have a way out. We have to take it."

"We saved her from being killed by the wraith. How is this any different?"

"The wraith," Mary Margaret said. Her face lit up with an idea.

"What?"

"We sent it through a portal. Why can't we do the same thing with the self destruct?"

"Because we don't know if it's going to work," Emma said.

"It could."

"Yeah," her father was joining in now.

"It's too risky. No one will go along with it."

"Yes, we will. Because it's the right thing to do," Archie said. He looked between the royals. "Look, Snow White and the Prince have always led us before, and we've always won. So, who's willing to let them lead us again?"

"Me."

"Me!"

"Always."

Mary Margaret was happy to hear that everyone would back them. "This is what we should do. And will do."

"I just don't want him to be alone," Emma said. She hugged her son close. "I don't want him to grow up the way I did."

There was a loud rumble. The room shook knocking several people off their balance. In addition, it seemed to knock down Emma's support for her parent's plan. "This plan could fail. If we use that bean now, we can get away for sure. We will survive."

"But it's wrong. Emma, I killed her mother."

Killian had watched them go back and forth for a while. he hadn't said anything But it was time for him to get involved. David threw the bean at Emma, but it was Hook that caught it. "You're all mad," Killian said.

"What?" Emma asked. She looked down at the small bag holding the bean in his hand.

"Have you thought about the land that the portal would send the self destruct to? You're not only risking all our lives, but theirs as well. And for what? To let Regina live? She doesn't deserve it. I want to live."

"You and I - We understand each other. Look out for yourself and you'll never get hurt, right?"

"Worked quite well for me," he said. He wanted to tell her that he would always look out for her as well, but this wasn't the time.

"Yeah, till the day that it doesn't," she said. She took in a breath. "We're doing this. It might be stupid. It might be crazy, but we're doing it. So...You can join us and be a part of something or you can do what you can do best and be alone."

"Quite passionate, Swan," he said handing her back the bag with the bean inside. Everyone got ready to leave. He got close to her to whisper. "Why are you really doing this?"

"The kid just lost his father today. I'm not letting him lose a mother, too," she said.

"His father? Who is Henry's father?"

"Neal," Emma said.

The pieces started fitting together. "Baelfire?"

"Yeah," she said. She started walking out the door.

He stood there in shock. Baelfire was Henry's father. This was Milah's son, the boy he had taken onto his ship for a short time. When Milah had been alive they had talked about bringing him aboard the ship. After she was killed, the boy was a beautiful reminder of his love for her. Now he was dead.

He hadn't noticed that Emma was stood hesitantly at the door until she faced him again. "Killian?" she asked, her voice only just above a whisper.

"Yes?" he asked bringing himself back to the present.

"There's a chance that this plan can fail. If that happens..." Emma said. She stopped herself and took into consideration her next few words. "Look, I know we've been on difference sides for the past couple of weeks, but you were one of my best friends. If we all die today, I'd hate to leave it like this."

"What are you saying, Emma?" he asked.

"Will you come with us?" she asked.

He knew what his answer would be. He would follow her anywhere if she asked him to. He also knew what this meant for her. With just a paragraph of words, she was trying to figure out a way to put them back together. She wanted his friendship back.

"Yes, I will."

cs

He followed Emma and her family to the Storybrooke Mines where Tamara and Greg had activated the self destruct. Just as she said she would, Regina was there using her magic to slow down the disaster. In that moment, as she looked so weak and helpless, Killian felt pity on her. He had been so ready to sacrifice her life by letting her go down with Storybrooke, he had betrayed her for the sake of getting back at Rumpelstiltskin.

The both of them were more alike then they realized. They had been on a path of revenge for so long. Now they had found someone who brought hope into their live. For Regina, it was Henry. For Killian, it was Emma.

"What are you doing here?" Regina asked when she noticed them.

"You were willing to die to save us. That makes you a hero and now we're gonna be heroes," Henry said.

"We're gonna open a portal, throw this thing into a void," David said.

"No. You don't know that it'll work."

"We have to try," Mary Margaret said.

"Everybody, step aside," David said.

They all made room so that Emma would have space to throw the bean down to the floor to open the portal. She took the bean out of the small bag and stared at it.

"Emma?" her father asked.

Her eyes met Killian's. "Hook was right."

"I'm was?" he asked. He wasn't sure what she was referring to.

"We can't just send the self destruct through a portal. We have no idea what it could do or how many lives could be ruined," Emma said. She turned to her mother. "Look at what happen to Aurora when we sent the wraith. I don't want to ruin anyone's life."

"So, what do we do?" Henry asked.

"We stay heroes," Mary Margaret said with a cracked voice.

"We could still open a portal and go back to the Enchanted Forest," Henry said.

"We can't," his grandmother said.

"Not when our friends are here," his grandfather said.

The realization of what this meant hit them all.

Emma walked over to her family with tears in her eyes. "Mom...Dad...," she said. Killian watched as the four of them hugged. They held each other in a strong embrace until Emma reached let go. She looked back at him. "Killian."

It wasn't until she had her arms wrapped around him that he understood why she had said his name. "Emma," he said. There was so much he wanted to tell her, so much he wished she understood.

"Shh. No, it's okay," she said. She combed his hair back with her hand.

"No, it's not," he said. He pulled back so that he could look at her. There was something he needed to do, something that he hoped would make her understand why he had been acting so rashly.

So, before he could talk himself out of it, he leaned in and kissed her. He knew that her parents and son were there. He knew that they didn't trust him. He didn't have their approval to court her.

But right now all that mattered was Emma and him. Sure, they had hit a very rough patch, but she had been ready to try and fix their friendship. That had to mean something.

Still, he was a little surprised when she didn't push him away and greet him a with punch to the face. Instead, her lips moved against his. He poured everything he had felt for Emma since the day she walked into his life into their kiss. If he was going to die in a matter of minutes, he was going to make it a good one.

She seemed to have the same mentality. She pulled him by his jacket bringing him closer and deepening their kiss. When he did the same, she let out a quiet moan. That was all the encouragement he needed to continue doing what he was doing.

The earth shaking was what broke them apart.

"Whoa," she said. Her father cleared his throat rather loudly. Her eyes grew wide when she realized she had just made out with Captain Hook in front of her parents. Still, she smiled at him shyly.

At some point during their kiss, Henry had broken away from his grandparents and joined his adopted mother, who was still using her magic to slow down the self destruct. "I love you, Henry. I only wish I was strong enough to stop all this. I'm just not."

Emma's head popped up. Her eyes grew twice in size when an idea came to her.

"What now, Swan?" Killian asked jokingly.

She looked at Regina. "You may not be strong enough, but maybe we are."

cs

"We can't let them just take Henry."

Five minutes. In a whole five minutes they had gone from thinking they were going to die to Tamara and Greg leaving with Henry in a portal.

Emma was in pain. Her son, her main source of happiness, had just been ripped away from her. He couldn't stand seeing her like this.

"They've taken Henry?"

Killian would recognize that voice anywhere. He was biting on his tongue to keep quiet. Not only was Emma suffering a loss, but so was the dark one. His son had just died and his grandson had just been abducted. As much as he hated that he was so close to his enemy right now, it wasn't the right time to get into it. No, right now they needed to find a way to get to Henry.

"Yeah. You're the Dark One. Do you have a way to track where they went?" David asked.

"I have a way to find people," Gold said. He shook his head. "But there's no way in this world without a portal."

"Luckily, we have a bean," Killian said. Rumpelstiltskin looked at him with disgust, but Hook ignored it. "I offer my ship and my services to help follow them."

After he had returned from New York and Greg and Tamara had let him roam around freely, he had found where Emma had left his ship. One by one they climbed on board. Rumpelstiltskin lingered a bit on land to tell Belle something that caused her to stay behind. He was the last to get on the ship.

"So...Are you done trying to kill me?"

"I believe so," Killian said. He knew now that Gold's threats towards Emma had been empty. He wouldn't kill the Savior knowing she could help him in the future.

"Excellent. Then you can live," Gold said. He used magic to make white globe appear in front of him. He pricked his finger and with the blood created a map.

"Where is that? Where did they take Henry?" Regina asked.

Killian had recognized the place right away. "Neverland."

A few minutes later, once they were out in the water far enough, Emma handed him the bean. He threw it into the water and started steering his ship.

"So, who are we up against?" David asked. He looked back at the others who were each holding on to something because of the wind. "Who are Greg and Tamara?"

"They're merely pawns, manipulated by forced far greater than they can conceive. They have no idea who they're truly working for."

"And who's that?" Emma asked.

"Someone we all should fear."

He didn't give anymore because before they knew it, they were going straight into the portal and preparing themselves for a darker storm.

* * *

TBC

One of the things that bugged me about the whole self destruct situation was that no one even thought about what would happen to the other land when they threw it in the portal. So, I added that to my chapter so that it could sort of bring Killian back to the lighter side where he doesn't take the bean for himself.

This is the last chapter for season two. It's also the last chapter for this month. I'm going on a short hiatus just until the show is back. I've been having trouble writing so this gives me a couple of weeks to get back into it.


	21. 3x01 - 3x03

Here's to 5B! Let's hope it doesn't bring us too many tears!

This chapter I start season 3 which means only ten more chapters until this story comes to an end! Thank you for sticking around with me. As always, reviews will bring a smile to my face so please leave them!

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty One**

* * *

3x01 "The Heart of the Truest Believer"

The first time Hook had used a portal to get to Neverland, the ride hadn't been half as bumpy and dangerous as this one. Luckily, everyone made it out in one piece.

"Is that it?" Emma asked.

"Aye," Killian said. He looked ahead at the land waiting for them. "Neverland."

Once they hit calmer waters, Regina had joined his side. First it started with him yelling at him, but then the conversation got deeper.

"I spent more time that I care to remember trying to leave this place to kill Rumpelstiltskin. And here I am, sailing right back into it's heart with him as my guest of honor. It's not quite the happy ending I was hoping for."

"Greg Mendell said something funny to me. He said I'm a villain, and that villains don't get happy endings. You believe that?" Regina asked.

"I hope not. Or we've wasted our lives," he said.

She caught him staring at Emma who was talking to her parents. "You love her. Do you still think you have a shot with her?"

To an outsider, this conversation was odd. Regina and Hook had gone against each other several times. She hated Emma. But unless he wanted to seek romantic advice from her parents or the man he hated most, Regina was all he had.

"I kissed her because we thought our world was crashing down. Then Henry was taken and her world really did come crashing down," he said. He paused to look at her. She had pain written all over her face because Henry was her world too. "I don't know what I have with Emma. Nor do I think it's the right time to start something."

"You should at least talk to her," Regina said.

cs

Leave it to Rumpelstiltskin to abandon them just minutes after they've gotten though the portal. Leave it to him to crush Emma with words.

He watched as Emma went below deck. He waited a few minutes once they hit calm waters to follow after her. He found her doing pull ups on a rail. She was going about it aggressively. He knew why right away. "Don't let Rumpelstiltskin get you down, love."

She jumped down so that she was eye level to him. "Are we going to ignore the fact that you kissed me?" she asked.

"Or that you kissed me back?" He asked with the same playfully tone she had given him. He leaned against the wall as he spoke. "I thought I would give you a chance to find your son before I bugged you about going on a date with me."

"Oh," she said. She sat down on one of the bunks that used to bed his crew. "Is that all?"

"Should there be another reason?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said quietly.

"Baelfire?" he asked. Milah's son was Henry's father. Emma and he had a past. Although he may not know much about it, Killian could see that she was affected by his death. Not only would he wait until they found her son to ask her out, but he'd wait until she was done grieving her former lover's death.

She didn't say anything, but he'd been around enough to read between the lines.

"Well, in any case, I wanted to give you something," he said. He brought up a key to one of his cabinets. "You know, Baelfire and I once spent a lot of time together."

"He was always Neal to me," she said.

"Yeah. Right," Killian said. He found what he was looking for; Baelfire's cutlass, an item he had locked away for safe keeping. He offered it to her. "This was his."

She took it, but looked up at his curiously. "I didn't realize Captain Hook was sentimental."

"He wasn't," he said.

There was a part of him that was happy that she was referring to his past self in third person instead of head on. It meant that she knew the difference between both who he was then and who he was now. The other part of him hoped that she realized enough to know that his pirate days where also section of who he was. He couldn't just erase those days for the sake of keeping himself pure in her eyes.

"I just thought you could use it where we're going," he continued. "You know...to fight."

She watched him closely as he held in one hand a flask and with his mouth to uncork it. Then he poured some for her. "Thanks," she said.

"To Neal."

"To Neal."

cs

He wished they had figured out they needed to work together before his ship had gotten ruined. Luckily, they were able to get supplies before the ship went down.

"We don't have to do it this way. I can fix the Jolly Roger. My magic is powerful enough," Regina said. No one noticed Killian's smile upon hearing that his ship could be fixed. "We can execute the pirate's plan."

"Sneak attack? Let's not be naive. Save your magic," Emma said. Nor did they notice his frown when he realized they would be leaving his beloved home behind. "We'll need it later because Pan already knows we're here."

Everyone let out a frustrated breath because they knew it was true. He would have noticed that storm.

Emma proceeded to give one of her long winded heroic speeches about how they needed to trust in each other and everyone else's skills. Aggressively or not, she managed to get them all to see her side of things. Killian just hoped it wasn't too late.

* * *

3x02 "Lost Girl"

Killian tried to warn David about the Dreamshade, but he still wanted to take that path. Unfortunately, it was useless. So, they made camp using the supplies they got from the Jolly Roger so they would have strength to travel around the Dark Jungle.

"Guess we'll have to make do with this," Emma said. She felt a chill on her skin. She rubbed her hands against her arms to warm herself up.

Killian noticed instantly. "Are you cold?" he asked.

"A little," she said.

"We could always cuddle," he said. He meant it as a joke, but lifted eyebrow and lip made him wish he had said it a more serious manner. She was tempting him in so many ways.

"Here's a blanket from the ship," David said. He was handing over the stuff to Emma, but he was looking straight at Killian. He was warning him to stay away from his only daughter. Sure, he knew the truth about why Hook had attacked Gold in New York, but that wasn't enough to earn him permission to date his daughter. He still was a pirate after all.

"Your father is a distrustful fellow," Killian whispered to Emma. Her parents were now setting up to go to sleep which meant that he could have a conversation with her that wasn't going to be interrupted.

"He's just not used to working with the bad guys," Emma said. She hated that she had to call him a bad guy. She didn't understand why he did a lot of what he did, but she could see with her own eyes that he was trying to be a better person.

"I can assure you, on this island, I'm not the bad guy."

"Yeah, well, Pan's not supposed to be one either," she said.

"The stories from your childhood got it all wrong, Swan. Pan is the most treacherous villain I've ever faced."

"How did you make it out alive?" she asked.

"I almost didn't," he said.

She sensed that when they did talk about his time in Neverland, it would be a lengthy conversation. Right now they had to rest. So, she left it alone.

"Just for the record, I don't like waxed mustaches or perms."

cs

Pan had given Emma a blank page that would turn into a map once she accepted who she was. She sat there and tried, but nothing would come up. So, they allowed Regina to use her magic on it, but that had only gotten them stuck in an ambush from Pan and his lost boys.

There was something about their encounter with Pan that stirred something inside Emma because not an hour later, she was showing them the map.

"Is rum your solution to everything?" she asked. She had shown them the map and he had told them that it wouldn't be easy.

"It certainly doesn't hurt," he said. She may have sounded annoyed that he used rum for everything, but that didn't stop her from taking a sip. "So just how did you unlock the map?"

"I did what Pan asked."

"And just who are you, Swan?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She handed him back his rum.

"Perhaps, I would," he said.

She gave him a smile, but walked away.

* * *

3x03 "Quite a Common Fairy"

All the work Emma put into accepting who she was to get the map to appear was useless. Pan was moving the camp. It was his form of rigging the game. Except this wasn't a game for any of them.

Tinker Bell was their safest bet to find any information, but Regina felt differently. So, she stayed behind while they looked for her. That got her held hostage by the fairy. In the end, she made it out alive, but Tinker Bell didn't have any pixie dust. The extent of her help was that she would get them to Pan's camp in exchange for a trip back when they returned home.

As they rested to regain strength and make a plan, it didn't go unnoticed by Killian that David's mood had changed slightly. Sure, it looked like they had a way to get Henry back, but without Tinker Bell's pixie dust, the dreamshade was still following in his veins. Still, the prince masked his feelings from his wife as the two cuddled in front of a fire.

He sat with Emma just on the other side of the fire a few feet away. He poked a hole in a coconut for her so she would have something to drink.

"Thanks," she said. When he prepared one for himself, she bumped the two together. "Cheers."

She was trying to get back to what they used to be, but he was having a hard time with it. He wanted to be close to her again, but he hated that he was keeping the secret of her father's state from her.

"Cheers," he said. He looked over at the prince and princess and found himself wondering what would become of their small family if they lost him.

* * *

TBC

I originally had 3x01 as a solo chapter, but as I sat down to write it, it wasn't long enough. I like to at least have 1,500 words, but I don't think I'll meet the goal for all the chapters that follow. Sorry.


	22. 3x04 - 3x05

I hope Emma and Hook get reunited tonight! Enjoy the episode! Thanks for the feedback!

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Two**

* * *

3x04 "Nasty Habits"

With all the haste to reach Henry, they hadn't come up with an escape plan. Tinker Bell wasn't willing to risk her life without one. So, they stood around and talked about how they would get off the island until he mentioned that Neal had found a way to get off the island on his own. He led them to Neal's hideout. There they had found Neal's map, but it was something only Neal could read.

"Which means the only person who can read it is dead." Emma said. She didn't say another word, but just walked off.

"Emma, wait!" David said. Both he and his wife went after her.

Regina too was ready to follow, but Killian stopped her. "I think she could use some privacy," he said.

"What?" she asked. She arched a single judgmental eyebrow at him. "Giving up so easily?"

"As much as I want to be with Emma, it's not the right time. I know what it's like to lose someone I loved."

"Don't we all," Regina said. Her head hung low in her own sadness.

He tried not to listen to the conversation Emma was having with her parents, but when he saw her storm off again, he peeked his head out so see if there was anything he could do.

"If you died, I would not be able to move on," Mary Margaret said.

"You must," David said. No doubt thinking about his death that would soon come. "I'm just saying...Every day we're here, something bad could happen. And if it did to me, I'd want you to move on, to continue, to be happy."

"That's really sweet, but nothing is going to happen to you, not while I'm here," she said bringing him in for an embrace.

Throughout the day, or rather night since they were in Neverland, Killian would look at the prince to keep an eye on his condition. Each time he looked weaker and weaker. It wouldn't be long now.

* * *

3x05 "Good Form"

"We need to send a simple sign. A sign that we're coming," Emma said. They were back in Neal's old hiding spot trying to figure out their next step since they couldn't decipher his map.

"Yeah, with lost boys running around, trying to kill us?" Regina asked.

"Yeah, maybe it's time we used that to our advantage," Mary Margaret said.

"How?"

"Follow me. I'll show you."

Emma and Killian were the last ones in the small cave. "Emma," he said. He didn't know what exactly he was going to say, but he needed to tell her about her father.

"Yeah?" she asked.

He could see it painted all over her face. Any hope she had of finding Henry was fading away. Telling her about her father would only make things worse. "I -. I -," he said.

"What is it?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I do know what if feels like, to lose hope."

"I'm not losing hope right now. We're going to find Henry," she said. She sounded like she was really trying to convince herself.

"I know," he said.

She followed outside to where her mother was, but her father was still there keeping a close eye on the two. Once David was sure she was out of hearing range, he spoke to the pirate. "What was that about? Were you going to tell her about me?"

"I was," he said honestly. David's lip curled up in a grin happy that he was going to get another chance to punch the pirate. "But right now she needs all the hope she can get in order to find her son."

David's punching ready fists relaxed. It would be easy to take out all his frustration on Killian, but more important things mattered. "If I die before we get to Henry..."

"I won'-."

"Listen to me," he said sternly. Once he saw that he had Killian's full attention, he continued. "If I die before we get to Henry, I want you to keep my family safe. I know you're only here for Emma..."

"You're wrong. I'm not only here for Emma. I've grown fond of the boy. I want to see him returned safely. You might still see me as a pirate, but I swear to you, I..."

"That's where you're wrong, I don't only see you as a pirate," David said.

"What do you see me as?" Killian asked.

"I don't know yet," he said.

That was the best response he was going to get from the prince. So, he took it.

cs

Killian Jones had lied to everyone. Even when they confronted him about the possibility of him lying, he lied. There wasn't a sextant up there that would help them find Henry, but there was a cure for dreamshade. So while he took David to get the water, Emma, Mary Margaret, and Regina got their message to Henry.

In helping David, he had upset Pan, but that was a small price to pay to see Emma's parents together and well again.

"Hook...he saved my life."

"You sure you wanna tell them that, mate?" Killian asked. He knew that the truth about the spring's water would have to come out sooner or later. They might find a way off the island, but the prince was stuck there.

"On our trek, we were ambushed by lost boys," David said. The pirate caught on quick enough to know he was lying and wasn't going to tell them about his punishment. "Pinned down, outnumbered. But Hook, he risked his life to stop me from getting hit by a poisoned arrow."

They, minus Regina, took a drink in his honor.

"You really save his life?" Emma asked once they were given a little bit of privacy.

"That surprise you?"

"Well, you and David aren't exactly...How do you say it? Mates," she said imitating his British accent.

"We were friends briefly. Sure we'd gone back and forth with punches, but it doesn't mean I'd leave your father to perish on this island."

"Thank you."

He smiled at her as best as he could. There was still the secret of her father's cure that was being kept, but he was alive. That was enough to let him be happy in this moment.

She mistook his smile for something else. "Killian," she said. She reached up to kiss him.

As she inched closer to lips, he told himself that this was wrong. She wasn't in the right place to start something with him. By the time their lips connected, all doubt was pushed aside.

Emma was kissing him. Unlike last time, she was the one who had started the kiss. He was happy to have her here. This was what he wanted for them since the day she walked into his life. So, he let himself get carried away in her kiss.

One of the things that was on his mind was the fact that her parents, and Regina, were just a few feet away from them. They had been there to witness their first kiss. He didn't want that happen now. With that in mind, he walked forward pushing Emma with him until they came across a tree that stopped their walking, but didn't stop their lips from moving over each other. It did, however, leave them out of sight.

This seemed to stir Emma on. She grabbed his leather jacket and pulled him down deepening the kiss. Being careful not to hurt her with his hook, he wrapped his arms around her and brought her closer.

Talking to Henry had put Emma in a good mood. He knew they were there. He knew they cared. The fear that he would not lose hope made her gain hope of her own. For the first time since arriving in Neverland, Emma really felt like they could win. Even more, for the first time since she'd arrived in Storybrooke, she felt like she could have a future. Killian, as complicated as it may be, was part of that future she saw.

Those were the thoughts that drove her to kiss him right now.

"Emma, we can't do this," Killian said pulling away.

She pulled him back. "Why not?" she asked. She stopped right before their lips met again. "What is it?"

"Neal," he said.

It was as if a cold bucket of ice had been thrown at her. As much as she hated it, he was right. She was still grieving Neal's death. "It won't always be this way," she said. One day she would be ready to be with Killian.

"I'm a patient man," he said reading into her hidden promise.

"Good," she said. She smiled at him before joining her parents.

cs

It was as if Pan had heard his conversation with Emma and wanted to do anything to tear them apart. Neal was alive. Or so Pan was saying.

He had to tell Emma. He knew that much. But he didn't want to. Neal being alive complicated so many things. It wasn't just another man trying to win the heart of the woman he loved. No, it was a chance that Emma's heart would get broken. If Pan was lying for whatever reason he had, telling Emma that Neal was alive only for it to be untrue would break her.

He didn't want to be the one to do that to her.

Killian Jones did not want to break Emma Swan's heart.

* * *

TBC


	23. 3x06 - 3x07

Thank you for the reviews! I take every single one of them into consideration!

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Three**

* * *

3x06 "Ariel"

Emma's parents were Team Neal. It was written all over their faces when he told them what Pan had told him. He couldn't blame them. They were as close to perfect as perfect came. They had a beautiful love story. They had a wonderful daughter. They were a family. With Neal back in the picture, he gave Emma the shot of being a perfect family with Henry.

It was for that very reason Killian couldn't be mad at Mary Margaret for telling Emma about Neal's possible resurrection even after they had agreed to wait. She wanted her daughter to know she could have hope. But in doing so, she was leaving Emma with a chance of heartbreak again if this was all one of Pan's tricks.

Regina wasn't happy that everyone was going to search for Neal instead of looking for Henry. Killian too felt like this distraction would only prove to be in vain, but he didn't say anything. He would go wherever Emma went.

So they followed after Mary Margaret who was following the trail from the scuffled dirt she had seen. That left them right outside the walls of Echo Cave.

"The cave demands that you reveal a truth about yourself. A secret you would never admit to anyone," Killian said.

"This is ridiculous," Emma said.

"Don't kill the messenger, love."

"Even if we spill our guts, how do we know Neal's still alive in there?"

"Because this is what Pan wants. He wants us to rescue him."

"Why?" David asked.

"So that we reveal our secrets. He believes once we do, our secrets will destroy us."

They went inside to find Neal in a cage at the center of the cave. This is where they would tell their secrets.

"So, what do we do?" Emma asked.

"I told you what needs to be done. Consider this the moment of truth, literally," he said. He turned to face Emma and her parents. "Now, who wants to kick things off?"

"So, what? Someone tells their secret and they sprout wings?"

"I don't know the particulars, only what I've been told."

"Well, how do you know it'll work?" David asked.

"There's only one way to find out, I suppose," Killian said looking at Neal. He wanted Milah's son to be free, but he also knew what was expected from him. "I kissed Emma." He quickly turned to face them.

"We all saw it," David said turning on his angry father mode.

"Again," Killian said.

"I already told Mary Margaret. So technically, it's not a secret," she said. She glanced over at her mother before meeting his eyes. "How's that your darkest secret?"

"It's what the kiss exposed," he said. He couldn't look her in the eyes as he told her the next part. "It's no secret that since the day you came to Storybrooke, I've cared about you, but it goes deeper than that. My secret it, I never thought I'd be capable of letting go of my first love, of my Milah, to believe I could find someone else. That is, until I met you."

The shift of the cave prevented him from seeing Emma's immediate reaction to his confession, but it did create more rock to bring them closer to Neal. Once their ground settled down, he saw how Emma was avoiding his eyes.

When he looked over at David, the prince nodded signaling that he was going to go next. "Mary Margaret -."

"No. No. No. Me next."

Everything that happened afterwards was a blur.

cs

Neal was free. Emma's secret had been the final piece to get him out of his prison. And a dark one it had been.

Once they realized that Neal could indeed get them off the island and made plans to get Tinker Bell, the awkwardness began to set in again. Mary Margaret wouldn't speak to David. Emma wouldn't look him in the eyes.

So, he did what the coward in him made easy to do, he hid. He watched as Emma and Neal talked about her confession.

"About what I said..."

"Hey. Hey. Emma. It's okay."

"No, it's not. I wish I could change how I feel more than anything, but I can't. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. After everything I've put you through, you don't ever have to apologize to me about how you feel. Hey, I'm glad you told me. I have a secret too, Emma," Neal said. Killian listened carefully. "I'm never gonna stop fighting for you. Never."

* * *

3x07 "Dark Hollow"

Killian had messed up big time. While on their way to capture Pan's shadow, he told Neal about his kiss with Emma which ignited some kind of anger in the dark one's son. Emma had picked up on it almost instantly. The second Neal was away cutting their way through with his cutlass, Emma questioned Killian on it.

"What was that about?"

"I assumed he'd heard my secret. And I also assumed that you'd told him about our shared moment."

"Why would you assume that?"

"Because I was hoping it meant something."

"What meant something was that you told us Neal was still alive. Thank you," she said. Killian nodded along, but in the back of his mind, he wondered if this was her way of letting him down. "I realized you could've kept Pan's information to yourself."

"Why would I have done that?"

"I don't know. Maybe Pan offered you a deal? Why else would he tell you?"

"It was a test. He wanted to see if I'd leave an old friend to die even if the old friend happens to be vying for the same woman I am."

"And you chose your friend."

"Does that surprise you?"

"You are a pirate," she said.

"Yeah, that I am, but I also believe in good form," he said. He moved closer to her invading what she would call personal space. "So, when I win your heart, Emma, and I will win it, it will not be because of any trickery. It'll be because you want me."

He was letting the pirate in him take over. He wasn't really that confident after seeing Emma and Neal together, but he had to give the image that he was.

"This is not a contest, Hook."

"Isn't it? You're gonna have to choose, Emma. You realize that, don't you? Because neither of us is gonna give up."

"The only thing I have to choose is the best way to get my son back."

"And you will."

"You think so?" Emma asked.

"I have yet to see you fail and when you do succeed...Well, that's when the fun begins."

"Guys!" Neal yelled. He walked right over to them. "I think I found it."

Emma looked at him one last time before following after Neal. It was the kind of look she gave that scared Killian. She wasn't looking him in the eyes, but instead passing through him. She felt awkward around him.

Since the beginning of their story, he knew there was a chance he would never be with Emma, but he thought he could always count on their friendship. Now he was beginning to wonder if that was even there.

If there was one thing worse than not winning Emma's heart. It was losing her as a best friend.

cs

Reunited with Mary Margaret, David, and Pan's shadow now safely tucked away in a coconut shell, it was time for Tinker Bell to do her part, but before then, they had to rest. The fight against Pan wasn't going to be easy, but if all went as planned, this would be their last few hours here on Neverland. A little rest now would prepare them for what's to come.

That would have been fine if Emma was able to sleep. She didn't want to make noise and wake the others so, she climbed down the latter of Tinker Bell's hideout to where she knew Hook was standing watch. Pan didn't know about their alliance with Tinker Bell, but they could never be too careful.

"Couldn't sleep?" Killian asked.

"I just want to get this over with and be reunited with my son," she said. She rubbed her arms together to warm herself. He noticed and immediately stripped himself of his leather jacket and placed it on her. "Thank you."

"We're going to get him back, Swan," he said.

"I know."

They both let a silence fill the air until Emma couldn't take it anymore. "When did you start having feelings for me?" she asked.

"Since the day I started having feelings for you," he said. It was an answer given quickly out of defense.

Her head sagged in annoyance. "Humor me?"

He nodded seeing no other way to avoid her question. "Since the moment I laid eyes on you, Swan."

"I don't believe in love at first sight."

Says the product of True Love, he thought silently.

"I never said I was in love with you," he said. Another silence fell between them. She was asking him with her eyes if he was in love with her, but the reality was that she wasn't ready to hear the truth. "Let's call it lust at first sight."

"Ha. Ha. Ha," she said. She brought her hand up to smack his shoulder.

"What? After all, I am a pirate," he said. He arched his eyebrow up at her.

"Right," she said. She studied him as he looked down at his hand and hook on his lap. "Do you ever miss it? Being out on your ship, I mean."

"Sometimes," he said. His mind drifted off to his many years out at sea. "For so long it was the only constant in my life. No matter what, I could count on Jolly Roger to be my home."

"What about during the curse? You didn't have your ship. What was your constant then?"

He laughed quietly. "Are you fishing for compliments?" he asked.

"What? No!"

"Bloody hell. You are!" Killian exclaimed. He couldn't stop the roar of laughter that slipped past his lips.

"What are you talking about?"

"Fine, I'll give it to you," he said. He took hold of her chin so she was forced to look him directly in the face. "You. You were my constant."

He was so close to her. She had to keep telling herself to look into his eyes because if she allowed herself just for a second, she would look down at his lips just inches away from her own. They both knew what would happen if she did.

He wanted her to know that above everything else he valued her friendship. He wanted to save that even if she chose the other man. "You let the shy waiter guy be your friend when very few others even saw me as a person. I found myself just waiting for you to walk through those doors because going through a day without talking to you was absolute misery."

"You're cheating," she said. She forced herself to look away. "The flirting. The eyes. 100% cheating."

"I thought you said it wasn't a contest?"

"It's not, but this is still cheating."

"I can't help it if you find me irresistible, love." To further annoy her, he licked his lips before combing back his hair as smoothly as he could.

She let out a frustrated huff. "I hate you," she said. Her laugh deceiving her words.

"Go to bed, Swan. You know, before you throw yourself at me," he said.

She reached up just to mess up his hair. Then hated herself once she realized that even with messed up hair, he looked sexy. "Goodnight, Killian Jones."

"Goodnight, Emma Swan."

Even as she was walking away from him, he couldn't help but have the biggest smile on his face. His worry from earlier was gone. No matter what happened, his friendship with Emma Swan wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

TBC

One of the major scenes I skipped over was the capturing of Pan's shadow. I'll explain why. While I think it's awesome because Emma is using her powers on her own, both Neal and Killian (mostly Neal) annoyed me in that scene. They were both acting like children and writing that scene was never something I wanted to do.

So, I added in the last scene with Killian and Emma at Tink's. It wasn't something I originally planned to write, but I wanted to get back to the roots of the Emma and Killian friendship I had created in the story in the early chapters.

You guys have watched the show. I'm going to trust that you know enough to be able to fill the lines in on major things that I don't put into my story. And if you don't, feel from to ask me in the reviews and I'll message you back. I'm going to be adding my own stuff more and more as we come to the last couple of chapters of the story.


	24. 3x08 - 3x09

Only a few chapters left! Thank you for sticking around!

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Four**

* * *

3x08 "Think Lovely Thoughts"

"You've changed since I last saw you." Tinker Bell was leading their way to Pan's compound when she started pacing herself next to Killian.

"Blame it on the curse. Regina made me a coward for 28 years. I'm not as charming as I used to be," he said.

"That's not it," Tink said. She gave him a pensive look. She watched as his eyes went back to Emma walking behind them. "It's her, isn't it?"

Emma was close enough that she could hear their conversation, but he hoped that she was focused on getting to Henry that she was not listening. Still, he didn't want to risk it. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"Of course you don't," Tink said picking up on his shyness.

"I'm gonna ask Tink how close we are to Pan's compound. I don't want to be surprised by any lost boys on patrol."

"Good idea."

Luckily, Killian wasn't forced to answer any more of the fairies questions because the prince had some questions of his own.

cs

With the crocodile's box, they had a shot at really beating Pan. Gold had even offered to help Emma find a cure for her father. Now they just had to save Henry from sacrificing himself for Pan. While Emma, Neal, Rumple, and Regina went to stop Henry, Mary Margaret and David went to Dead Man's Peak to acquire some water from the fountain. As for Hook, he stayed behind with Tinker Bell to keep an eye on the lost boys.

He didn't like the idea of being separated from Emma again wasn't one Killian liked, but he knew it had to be. Emma's reunion with her son needed to be free of any rivalry he had going on with Neal.

"How long have you been in love with Emma?" Tinker Bell asked.

"This again, Tink?"

"You didn't answer my question earlier."

"And there's a reason for that."

"You're a better person because of her," the fairy said.

"I know," he said.

And just like that, the conversation was put to an end.

* * *

3x09 "Save Henry"

Everything that could possibly go wrong, went wrong. Henry gave his heart to Pan & because they felt the magic of Neverland, Mary Margaret and David turned back around without the water from the fountain.

But he should have know better than to lose hope in Emma and her family. Because of Emma's motherly input, the lost boys had given up Pan's location. And thanks to Regina's lack of regret, they were able to take back Henry's heart from Pan.

Emma's son was okay and now safely sleeping in the Captain's Quarters of his ship. The crocodile was free and would help David with the cure. Being heroes was working for their family.

Even if the Jolly Roger was fast, it would still take hours to get back to Storybrooke. Everyone from the Charmings to the lost boys were spread out across the ship. Emma found her way over to him as he steered the ship. There wasn't really a need from him to stand there the whole way, but he felt most comfortable there.

"Do you think he really wants to change?" Emma asked. Her stare was at Neal and his father engaging in conversation. He knew she meant Rumpelstiltskin.

"I think he wants to do right by his family," Killian said honestly.

"By Neal? We already knew that," Emma said.

"Maybe even by you."

"What makes you say that?"

"There's something I should have told you a long time ago," he said. She wasn't the first person he would tell this to, but it was a secret he had been keeping during their entire time in Neverland.

"What is it?"

"Gold threatened you."

"What?"

"When you left for New York. He made sure I knew he could hurt you," he said. She stayed silent as he said his words. "You were expendable to him before. I don't think that's the case anymore now that he knows you're his grandson's mother."

She was angry to hear this, but she didn't let that anger overtake her. She knew what Gold was capable of. It shouldn't surprise her as much as it did that he would make a threat.

"That's why I went after him in New York. I was only trying to make sure nothing happened to you and Henry."

"What about Belle?" she asked.

"That was an accident. I wasn't trying to shoot her. I was aiming at the dark one," he said.

She sat there replying that night in her head. He had been acting so weird making sure to push her away. She hadn't even bothered to notice if there was guilt behind his eyes for what he had done to Belle. The events of that night had taken a toll out of their friendship. She just wanted to put it behind them.

The only way she knew how to do that was joking around with him. "I guess I should teach you how to shoot a gun properly."

He smiled realizing that she was messing around with him. "As long as you let me teach you how to properly wield a sword."

"I know how to use a sword!" she yelled defensively.

"Meh," he said. He shrugged his shoulder casually.

She laughed mockingly, but then asked him a question she knew would turn the conversation back to a serious one. "How did he know that threatening me would work on you?"

"He knew I couldn't stand and watch as I lost someone else I loved die," he said. He didn't even realize he had admitted to loving her.

But she did.

"I'm sorry I tried to get you to talk about your brother. That wasn't right of me," she said.

"No apologies needed, Swan. You just wanted to keep your family together. You deserve to have a family," he said. He had no idea then, but his own words would later help him with a decision he had to make.

"Why didn't you tell me about your brother before?" she asked. The second her father told her about Hook's brother, she found herself wanting to know more about him.

"Well between being stuck in two different words and then trying to keep Gold from killing you, I was a little busy," he said. He saw that his answer wasn't enough for her.

"I didn't want you to pity me."

"I wouldn't pity you, Killian," she said. She put her hand on his shoulder, but that wasn't enough. She replaced her hand with her head. Her head felt at home there resting on his shoulder. "I just want to get to know you."

She had called him out on cheating the other night, but right, she felt like she was the one who was cheating. Neal was just a few feet talking with his father. Yet here she was snuggled up to the pirate she called her best friend.

Killian enjoyed having her so close, so he didn't call her out on her uncharacteristic cuddling. "It's a long story," he said.

"Luckily, we still have time until we get home."

"That we do," he said.

She smiled up at his ready to hear more about Killian's brother. She didn't just want to know how he died. She wanted to know more about who the man was. But most of all, she wanted to know more about the man she was falling in love with.

"My brother's name was Liam..."

TBC

I love how in my story Killian is telling Emma about Liam and tonight he returns! I didn't plan it, I swear. Actually I originally had planned for Hook to tell her the story of Liam back in season two. I was going to have him tell her about the whole Milah/Rumple story after he shot Belle, but it didn't quite fit with the direction I took it. So, I tossed the conversation, but knew I wanted it at some point. I like to think that Killian has told Emma about who his brother was and not just how he died. I guess we'll see tonight.

Also, if any of you guys have twitter, my username is 5Harmoneyes. I love to talk about the show. I even live tweet during the show whenever I can. Follow me. I'll follow back if you let me know you're from here!


	25. 3x10 - 3x11

Sorry this is a day late. My internet & cable went down last night just minutes before I was going to post it. Finally got it back and this was the first thing I wanted to do. Now I'm off to watch last night's episode!

I just want to say thank you to everyone who has read and left reviews. In addition to writing fanfic, I write my own stuff. Your kinds words keep me going in both. For that, I owe you a world of thanks!

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Five**

* * *

3x10 "The New Neverland"

You deserve to have a family.

The words Killian had told Emma had been on a constant replay ever since they got back to Storybrooke. Maybe it was seeing her with her son and something in the air that was making him feel this way, but he had to give both Emma and Henry their best shot. They deserved to be happy.

So, he told Neal first. He wasn't going to try to win over Emma, but he was going to wait until Neal screwed up. Truthfully he wasn't sure that was going to happen like it had in the past. With all their secrets being out, he had no reason to mess up.

Where did that leave Killian? Drunk off his ass walking the streets of Storybrooke in a not so straight line.

"Killian? What are you doing?" Emma asked.

He turned around to realize that even though he had left their welcome home party a few minutes ago, his faltered walk had only gotten him a half a block away from Granny's.

"Go back to the party, Emma," he said.

"You're drunk!"

"When am I not?" he asked. He laughed at the truth in his own words. "Don't worry, Swan. I won't hurt anyone. You can go back to your celebration."

He turned around continuing his path to the Jolly Roger knowing he had left Emma confused.

cs

Killian woke up the next day with the mindset of not thinking about Emma. He would give her the time and space that she needed to settle things with Neal. Except when he got to the deck of his ship from his quarters, there she was. She sat on a rock looking down at her hands. As much as he wanted to turn the other way and ignore her, he couldn't stand seeing her looking so lost.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he approached her.

"Oh, you're talking to me now?"

He deserved the attitude she was giving him. "Well, as you pointed out, I was drunk last night."

She was mad at him for shoving her off last night, but she still needed someone to talk to. "It's Henry. I'm worried about him. He's not acting like himself."

"He's a complex boy. I'm sure he just needs some time to get used to being back home," he said. That wasn't enough for her. "Maybe I can't offer you insight on what's on your boy's mind, but I should explain why I was angry last night."

"What did I do to piss you off?"

"It wasn't something you did, but rather something I realized."

"Which was?"

"That I was going to have to let you go," he said.

Her immediate reaction was to laugh, but then she saw his face and realized how serious he was. "Where is this coming from?"

"I've ruined families before, Emma," he said. His head hung low in shame. "I won't do that to Henry. He deserves a chance to see his parents together."

She was speechless. He told her he was going to win her heart and now he was just giving up? That wasn't like him. "So, you're just going to give up?"

"No, I'm preventing myself from further heartbreak," he said. He looked out at the horizon. "Sooner or later, you're going to realize that he is the better choice for you. He can give you everything you've ever wanted. I'm bowing out because I know what my chances are here."

Deep down he wanted her to make her choice now. He wanted her to pick him. But she didn't. She didn't say anything at all.

"I'm going to lay low for a while. You probably won't see me for some time, but it's probably best."

"Are you leaving?" she asked.

"No. Not unless you want me to," he said.

"Killian, I would never want you to leave. I want you in my life."

"Then I'll be in my ship," he said. He smiled at her, but it was a forced one. "Give Henry my regards."

The last thing he saw before going below deck was Emma's father walking towards his daughter.

cs

Laying low did not last long. Neal and Tinker Bell had showed up on his ship looking for the candle so they could recapture Pan's shadow that had killed the Blue Fairy. Then minutes later, Emma had called Neal to tell him that Henry was in Pan's body and Pan in Henry's.

Everyone raced over to Regina's vault, but they didn't get there in time. Pan had stolen what he wanted. And because of him, a new curse was coming their way.

* * *

3x11 "Going Home"

Their best shot at stopping the curse was getting Henry back into his right body and to find the Black Fairy's wand. Because of Tink, they were able to stop the shadow, but not before it tossed Hook around a little.

"Look who's still a fairy," Killian said.

"Look who's still a pirate," Tink said back. She looked down at his hand placed over his injury. "You alright?"

"Well, I lost a hand once. This is nothing."

"For the record, I know why you risked your life back there and it wasn't for yourself or revenge. It was for Emma," she said.

Although her attention was pulled elsewhere by a newly revived Blue Fairy, Killian knew she was right. Even if he and Emma were taking a time out, he would do anything to protect her. She was one of the only things worth risking his life for.

cs

They had the Black Fairy's wand. Now they just had to get Henry back into his body. Luckily, Rumple had the cuff he took from Greg and Tamara that would make Pan powerless once he was in his body.

Everything was going great until Regina got her hands on the curse. That's when things turned for the worse. She had fallen unconscious on the street. As she was waking up and beginning to tell them what they needed to do, Pan took the curse from her hand. In a frozen state they watched as The Dark One killed Peter, but in doing so, he sacrificed himself.

For hundreds of years Killian had made it his purpose to see the crocodile die before his eyes. Now that it had happened, it didn't feel like he thought it would.

Right now he was worried about the curse. For twenty eight year he had been cursed as a coward. He didn't want that again. He didn't want to lose the man he had become.

cs

Even if he put all his faith in Emma and her family, he knew there was nothing stopping this from happening. With the exception of Emma and Henry, everyone was returning to the Enchanted Forrest.

He watched as she said goodbye to everyone. She got closer and closer to him. He was dreading their goodbye.

Then she started walking to her car. He couldn't believe that she was so mad at him that she wouldn't bother to say goodbye. So, he stood in front of her readying himself to apologize. "I'm sorry I spent our last day together trying to get away from you."

"Now you can be free of me," she said. She sounded hurt. With everything happening right now, he knew her emotions were running on high.

"That's something I never truly wanted. You have to believe that," he said.

She nodded. "You were wrong when you said picking him would give me everything I ever wanted," she said.

"What?" he asked confused.

"It wouldn't get me you."

She was telling him that she would pick him over Neal. Given any other circumstance, he would take her in his arms and kiss her until his lips were numb, but he couldn't do that now. She was leaving Storybrooke. He was going back to the Enchanted Forrest. They wouldn't see each other ever again. It wasn't fair to either of them.

"There's not a day will go by I won't think of you."

"Good," she said.

He may not be able to kiss her, but he did pull her in for a tight hug, their final hug before he took several steps back to give her a last moment with her parents.

The Evil Queen stepped in. "Emma, there's something I haven't told you."

"What now?" Emma asked with a sigh.

His heart sunk as Regina told Emma that she wouldn't remember her time in Storybrooke, but she could give her false memories of a life with Henry. Before he could begin to understand what that meant, they were getting in their car and driving off as his world became consumed with smoke.

He stared at her yellow bug driving away hating that although the memory of her would haunt him for the rest of his life, she wouldn't even remember him.

cs

One year. It had been one year since he'd seen Emma Swan. It had taken him a lot to get him here at her door, but he didn't care. All that mattered now was seeing her again.

He knocked once, but there was no answer.

His mind began wandering. What if the Emma Swan that lived here, wasn't his Emma Swan? He found her name in the phone book and didn't hesitate to find the address.

He knocked harder. Even if this was the home of another Emma Swan, he had to be sure. He had come too far to not know.

He was just about to bang on the door another time when it was opened. She was there. After all this time spent thinking about what their reunion would be like, it was finally here.

"Swan," he whispered. He took a step towards her. "At last."

Her hand mid air stopped him from getting to her. "Whoa! Do I know you?"

"Look, I need your help. Something's happened, something terrible. Your family is in trouble."

"My family's right here," she said. Of course she hadn't just forgotten him. She had forgotten her parents. "Who are you?"

"An old friend. I know you can't remember me, but..." Killian said. A lightbulb flicked on in his head. "I can make you."

The second his lips met hers, she fought him off. In true Emma fashion, that came with a knee to his groin. In her eyes, however, that wasn't enough pain. She pushed him back making his back collide with the wall. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Long shot. I had to try," he said. He knew she wouldn't understand her next words. "I was hoping you felt as I did."

"All you're gonna feel is the handcuffs when I call the cops."

"Look, I know this seems crazy, but you have to listen to me. You have to reme-."

She closed the door in his face. Even if he stood there knocking for the next thirty minutes, she wouldn't let him in. She didn't remember him. She didn't trust him.

His original plan had been to get her to remember with True Love's Kiss. Then they would get Henry to take the memory potion, but that wasn't going to work. He had to come up with another plan to get them back home.

TBC

As I read over this to edit it because some reviewers were noticing typos (and I'd gotten lazy at editing), I realized how rushed some of the episode explaining was. The main reason was because I wanted to focus on Killian telling Emma that he's realized he has to let her go and then their goodbye. I couldn't do that and then add in further explaining the curse, Rumple's death, etc. without making the chapter super long. I also took out the part where Hook flirts with Tink. As funny as it was to see Emma get a little jealous, it wasn't tasteful for the Killian I had written (nor the Killian on the show, but I down write the show). I didn't think it was something he would do.

As I've said before, I assume everyone reading this has watched and knows what happens, but if you have any questions, let me know.


	26. 3x12

Just a little warning, Killian and Emma's conversation they have back at her place after she gets her memories is going to completely change for my story. I added bits and pieces of the conversation they had on the show, but overall, I changed it. Several of Emma's comments on the show are meant to be a jab at Killian. The way I plan on writing Emma for this half of the season, she won't be as shut off to him as she was in the show.

I took a couple of lines from the Smallville episode "Pandora" and put them in this chapter. Let me know if you find them!

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Six**

* * *

3x12 "New York City Serenade"

He kept his distance as he followed Emma throughout the day. He watched proudly as she tricked a guy into thinking he was on a date with her only to end the date in handcuffs. And not the fun kind.

When she pulled in for a second date, he thought it was the same trick. However, from the way she gave him a kiss as a greeting, this man was her boyfriend. He knew nothing of the man, but already he hated him. It was agony watching her smiling and eating with him.

The second Emma's boyfriend stepped away from the table, Killian rushed out of the cab he had been holding. Her eyes had been on her phone so when she looked up and realized it was him, she was not happy.

"You -."

"I can explain," he said quickly.

"You are a stalker!"

"Don't scream. Just hear me out."

She set her phone down on the table, but he saw how she grabbed the knife. It was a butter knife, but still, he knew she was capable of making it a deadly weapon.

How odd he must seem to her. He was still in his clothes from the Enchanted Forrest, although, in New York, people were dressed oddly all the time.

He told her what he thought would get her to believe, but it didn't work. So, he settled for giving her the address to Neal's old apartment. Then she would have no other choice then to believe what he was saying. Or at least she would start questioning what she knew.

He took one last look at her from his cab. The man was now down on one knee proposing to her. However, Killian didn't get the chance to see her reaction because the cab was running again and she was out of view.

cs

He met her in by the entrance for the Zoo in Central Park like he said he would. He didn't follow her that day. She was already freaked out with him. He didn't want to freak her out further if she caught him.

He was hopeful that she would believe him now. What he didn't expect was her to find a camera with Henry's name on it. He heard her mom voice and knew he was in trouble. Emma Swan, no matter what her memories were, would always protect her son. She believed Killian was conspiring with Neal to take her son away. She wouldn't allow that.

So, she had him arrested.

cs

The camera had been the thing that got him in trouble with Emma, but it had also been the thing that helped him. Emma developed the pictures. It was pictures of her and Henry with her parents in Storybrooke. She was starting to believe his words, but she still had her doubts.

"I'd have to give my life up my life here," she said.

"It's all based on lies."

"It's real. And it's pretty good," she said. Her voice was breaking up now. "I have Henry. A job. A guy I love."

"Perhaps there's a man that you love in the life that you've lost," Killian said. Even if she didn't remember him, the look on her face was obvious that she knew he was speaking of himself. "Regardless, if you want to find the truth, drink up. Do you really want to live a life of lies? You know this isn't right. Trust your gut, Swan. It will tell you what to do."

"Henry always says that."

"Well, then if you won't listen to me then listen to your boy."

She took the potion from his hand. She looked at it for a whole three seconds before drinking it. With eyes closed she took two steps back.

When she did open her eyes, she looked more like herself. Or at least, that is what Killian was allowing himself to think.

"Hook."

He hadn't told her who he really was. This was all her. Her memories were back.

"Did you miss me?" he asked with a smile.

"Killian," she said. She practically jumped into his arms.

"Finally," he said. He doubled the tightness of their hug. After all this time spent away from her, he didn't want to ever let her go.

"We need to talk," she said. She looked around. "Not here."

cs

They walked in silence as they went back to her place. He wanted nothing more than to have a conversation with her, but he kept quiet. She just got her memories back. She had a lot to take it.

"How are Mary Margaret and David?" she asked once they were sitting down at her table.

"When I left, they were making plans to rebuild the kingdom with Regina," Killian said. She didn't ask, but he kept going. "I left shortly after we arrived."

"Where did you go?" she asked.

"I needed space. Swan, after you disappeared, I couldn't be around your parents. It reminded me of you and that hurt too much," he said.

"Killian -."  
He didn't want her to pity him. So, instead of focusing on how he spent the last year of his life pining for her, he continued his story telling. "I got a message. A message saying there was a new curse and that everyone had been returned to Storybrooke. The message told me that the only hope was you."

"What about Henry? There was only enough memory potion for me. How am I supposed to take him back when he doesn't even remember that life. We don't even know what we're heading into!" she yelled.

While he was glad they weren't focusing on how pathetic he had become, he wished there was a way he could calm her fears. "This isn't your real life," he said.

"It's been real for the past year."

"Don't you miss any of it? Don't you miss Storybrooke?" he asked.

She knew what he was really asking. "Of course I missed you. Well, I didn't but that's only because I didn't remember you and then when I did, you were standing right there wearing that."

They both laughed at the sad truth of what it meant to be cursed. "What? You don't like what I'm wearing?" he asked. He realized then that it was the first time she was seeing him in his pirate clothes. While they were cursed, he was always wearing his red and white work uniform. After the curse, he wore the leather jacket he knew she liked seeing him in. "It's leather."

"Yes, you look good in leather," she said. She knew the little boost to his ego was helpful considering the situation right now. "But you have to change before we go to Storybrooke. Henry's going to wonder why you're dressed like a pirate."

"Because I am a pirate," he said proudly. He caught on to the most important thing she said. "So, you'll go to Storybrooke?"

"I don't know," she said.

"Your family won't let anything happen to either of you," Killian said. That was her main concern.

She got up and poured them each a drink. "We both know that sometimes that's out of their control," she said.

"We both know your parents always find a way," he said. He was about to take a drink of whatever she had poured him, but stopped once he thought of something. "I mean, how many times have they used True Love's Kiss to get themselves out of a curse. Maybe this curse will give them another excuse."

She listened as he laughed to himself, but she wasn't laughing. Mentioning True Love's Kiss made her think of what Killian had tried to do. "You do know True Love's Kiss doesn't work if one of the people doing the kissing doesn't remember the other person, right?"

His eyebrow lifted. For the first time since he had been reunited with her, he felt confident in himself. "So, let's say you were under another type of curse, but you remembered me. Are you saying it would have worked?"

With perfect timing, the buzzer went off. Once he found out it was Walsh, he wanted to send him away, but Emma insisted she owed him an explanation.

"What are you going to say to him?"

"I don't know, but I care about him too much to drag him into all this," she said. She grabbed her coat. "Wait here."

cs

After being attacked by Walsh the flying monkey, Emma took Killian to a store to buy him some modern clothes. There was only two things about New York Killian liked. First, that Emma had been here. Second, stores were open all night long.

Emma had been lied to by someone she loved. She was upset, but Killian tried everything he could to make her smile while they were shopping. He did little things such as grabbing a leather jacket he knew was too small for him just to hear her laugh at his misery.

Eventually she figured out what he was doing and didn't tell him. She added to the pile of clothes he was trying on that was obviously too small for him. When he put two and two together, he acted like he was mad at her, but they both knew the reality. He slept on her couch and snuck out just before Henry got home. The young boy was going to have several questions as it was. He didn't want him asking his mother why there was a strange men sleeping over. In another life, he may be friendly with Emma's son, but this version of Henry was slightly different.

It was for that reason the drive to Storybrooke was quiet on his part. Many of the conversations he would have had with Emma could not be had in front of Henry. He knew Henry was curious about who he was, but after the first twenty string of vague answers, he didn't push further. Then halfway into the drive, he fell asleep.

They were back in Storybrooke way faster than he thought they would be. With everything looking as normal as a place like this could be, Emma left him with Henry while she left to see her parents.

As he watched her walk away, it was finally starting to set in that he was really with her. Sadly, that realization came with seeing that she was a changed woman. Being away for the last year gave her independence. His only hope was that with that independence, she didn't feel like she need to be free of him.

* * *

TBC

How am I doing writing a softer Emma? I wanted to find a middle between her frustration (or whatever you want to call what Emma had towards Hook in 3B) with Killian while still showing that she's protective of Henry. Maybe I'll have a chapter from her perspective instead of from Killian's.


	27. 3x13-3x14

So, I've been writing my own book. Original. My characters. A story I created. Blah. Blah. Blah. Point being, I'm writing that story in first person. As I started writing the beginning of this chapter, I realized I was doing that with this story as well. It was easy to get caught up in it because I wanted a chapter from Emma's point of view so coming into writing this chapter as it is, was different. Just in case I don't catch all of the errors, you know in advance why a sentence might be in first person.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Seven**

* * *

3x13 "Witch Hunt"

Her mother was pregnant. People, including Neal, were missing. They didn't know who put this curse on them. While she was excited to see Mary Margaret and David again, it was all too much for one day.

So, they agreed to regroup tomorrow at Granny's to see what they could do to get their memories back. Emma was just about to enter the room she got for herself and Henry when she felt someone behind her. Whoever it was, she wanted to deal with them before her almost teenage son woke up. So, she did what she knew how to do best and clenched her fist.

If Killian had been a foot closer than he was, he would have felt the full effect of her right hook. "Just me love," he said, both hook and hand raised in surrender.

"Hook, what are you doing?"

"I needed a room too," he said.

"You don't have a place to stay?" Emma asked.

"I burned down my cabin after the curse broke," he said.

"What about your ship?"

There was a sadness in his eyes she did not quite understand. "Like I said, I need to get a room here. I won't bother you or the boy," he said.

"Killian, you're not a bother," she said.

He tried his best to smile at her, but she knew it wasn't genuine. "I'm sorry," he said before ducking into his room.

The thing was, she had no idea what he was apologizing for.

cs

"Some manner of beast with wings."

Robin Hood was now in Storybrooke and one of his men had been taken as they got near the town line. Typical day in the life of Emma Swan when she was here.

"It sounds alot like the monster that attacked me in New York," Emma said.

"You mean the monster you were gonna marry?" Killian asked.

"You were gonna marry someone?" David asked in his overprotective dad tone.

"Did you just miss the part where I said monster?"

Hook knew she about Walsh's proposal, but this was the first time he was mentioning it. She should have known he knew. He was there watching her when it happened.

Was this why he was acting strange last night?

"We need to find little John," Robin said.

Thankful for the newcomer's urgency to find his friend, she jumped at the chance to change the conversation from one she was not ready to have.

"It may lead us to everyone else who's gone missing," she said. She saw the look in her father's eyes that he wasn't done with the conversation. She sent her father and Killian on their mission while she called a town meeting.

cs

They were dealing with the Wicked Witch who was turning everyone into monkeys. As if that wasn't a lot to process, after Regina left, her father had invited Killian to stay for dinner as a thank you for bringing Emma and Henry home.

She would have called her father out of his sudden niceness, but she saw how happy the invitation made Killian. With him, she decided to take it day by day. Right now, he was there smiling with her. So, while she was curious what his apology from last night was about, she would not ask him that right now.

"You know, while we were out looking for Little John, your father kept trying to get information from me about your flying monkey. He didn't believe me when I told him I didn't know much," Killian said. He looked over her parents who had dragged Henry into helping them cook. They weren't paying attention to the conversation they were having on the couch.

Well, since he brought it up, she would talk about it. "I didn't realize you knew," she said. She figured saying as much wouldn't break whatever had brought up his smiling attitude.

"He just wants to protect you," he said. Quickly she figured out he did not want to focus on Walsh side of this conversation. "You're his little girl."

"What?" she asked.

"Oh come on, Swan. Everyone can see you're a Daddy's Girl," he said.

"I am not!"

"Are too," he said.

As if wanting to prove Killian right, her father walked right over to them. "Everything okay over here?" David asked. He looked down at his daughter with such love in his eyes.

Hook faked a small cough to hide his laugh. He could almost see Emma's annoyed look on her face as she playfully elbowed his side.

* * *

3x14 "The Tower"

While David dealt with the midwife, Emma and Killian started combing the woods looking for the Wicked Witch. They had travelled a bit of distance in silence, but he was the one to change that.

"You're about to be a big sister. How do you feel about that?"

Ever since the day before when he had called her a daddy's girl, he had used every opportunity he had to mess with her mind. This was just another chance for him.

"It's another adventure," she said not really sure where the words had came from. She wasn't sure how she felt about having a sibling, but she wasn't going to let him know. She wouldn't give him another chance to tease her about anything. "What about you? What kind of adventures did you get yourself into this last year? I'm guessing it was one swashbuckling tale after another."

"Exactly," he said not even bothering to made it sound like the truth.

"You're lying."

"Excuse me?"

"What happen back there? What aren't you telling me?" she asked. She hated that she had to be this way towards him, but even more she hated that he was lying to her.

"Nothing. It's my tale and I'm sticking with it."

"I don't believe you," she said.

"We you considering it?" he asked.

"Considering what?"

"His proposal?"

He wanted to talk about this now? Of all times? Sure, it was the perfect way to avoid what he had been up to this past year, but they were looking for someone. This was not the place to have this conversation. "Does it matter?"

"Humor me."

"Yes, okay? I was in love, so of course I was considering it. As usual he wasn't who he said he was, and I got my heart broken. That enough humor for you?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad to hear that."

"You're glad to hear I had my heart broken?"

"If it can be broken...It means it still works."

His words forced her to have to walk away. It was too much all at once. She couldn't handle it. So, she went back to searching for the Wicked Witch knowing Killian was not far behind her.

cs

It was too awkward between Emma and Killian for her liking. They had been back at the loft for almost half an hour and they hadn't so much as looked at each, but a couple of times. Instead they listened in as David told Mary Margaret how the Wicked Witch had stole his courage and how Rumpelstiltskin was still alive.

Emma listened carefully to make sure they didn't say anything too magical that would stir her son's ears. He was playing his video game on the couch, but she knew him too well to know how curious Henry could become.

She had had enough of avoid Killian. If he could pick the times he was okay with joking around with her, so could she. She wanted to get back to the way they were before. The only way they could was by breaking past the awkward barrier. They had talked about the Walsh subject. Now, they could move on.

Killian had been ready to play mind games with her earlier when he mentioned her becoming a big sister. Now, she was going to turn the tables in hopes that teasing each other would bring them back to who they were.

"How do you feel about Gold being back?"

He picked up on the teasing tone behind her question and realized what she was doing. "I think we have bigger issues than my feelings about my nemesis coming back alive," he said. She leaned against the counter in the kitchen. Her parents had moved over to their bedroom so it was just them now. "I know what you're doing, Swan. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" she asked. She hadn't meant to break the hold of their playful banter, but she had. Her question couldn't mask the genuine concern she felt for him. "It's okay to be mad about it. He was your enemy for hundreds of years."

"He's also your son's grandfather," he said.

Emma was finally starting to see how much Killian cared about Henry. In Neverland, he masked that care and instead let every believe he was selfishly there just to get Emma. She saw through him now. "He doesn't remember him."

"It doesn't change the fact," he said. He crossed his arms across his chest letting his hook rest his opposite bicep. "Our lives are too

to let the past navigate our future. We have to do better if we want to survive."

He was right. Everyone had a history with everyone. If they acted on based on that history, every single one of them would be dead by now."

"So now more revenge?" she asked.

"No more revenge," he repeated. He stared off at the wall. "I just want to be happy now."

"You deserve to be happy, Killian," she said.

"So do you," he said. He turned his head to look at her then smiled.

It was the way his smile made her feel that made her hate herself. She had just had her heart broken by a man she had been in a relationship with for almost a year. Yet, here she was admiring the smile of another man.

Ever since returning to Storybrooke, she felt as if she had been walking around like a zombie. For so long, this hadn't been her life, but when she was around Killian Jones, she started feeling alive again. As much as she had denied it for so long, she knew Killian Jones would be the one to make her happy again. They just had to stay alive long enough for that time to come.

* * *

TBC

So, Emma has accepted her feelings for Killian. How is that for softer side Emma? At this rate, I might end up getting them together before the finale.


	28. 3x15 - 3x17

Just three more chapters! I just want to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I've messaged a lot of you, but to the people who aren't signed in or are guests, THANK YOU as well! Every single one of your reviews means a lot!

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Eight**

* * *

3x15 "Quiet Minds"

Once her parents started showing signs that they were tired, Killian walked Emma and Henry back to their room at Granny's Bed and Breakfast. The young boy was more than ready to call it a night while the duo hung around downstairs talking.

"Does it feel weird coming back here knowing all of your stuff is in your parent's loft?" he asked.

"Well, technically most of my stuff is in New York," she said. She took a sip of the bottled water her mother had given her on their way out. "What about you? Don't you miss your ship?" She knew he wouldn't have needed a room if his ship had made it back to Storybrooke with him.

"I got something better in return," he said.

"And what was that?" she asked with almost a smile on her lips.

"You," he said.

"Me?"

"In order to get to you, all I needed was a magic bean."

"Those are not easy to come by," she said.

"They are if you've got something of value to trade," he said.

"And what was that?" she asked. Then it hit her what exactly they had been talking about. "You traded your ship for me?"

"Aye," he said. He hadn't meant to make his confession as serious as he did. Hell, he hadn't even planned on telling her what had happened to his ship, but it was too late. Now she knew.

Inch by inch she neared him until her lips hovered over his. She waited for him to make that final step that would connect their lips.

He did that and so much more. They had been standing in the middle of the hall, but the second he took her lips with his own, their bodies starting moving at their own will. Her back was pressed against his door within seconds. Her hands were in his hair pulling him down on her.

This had been exactly what she needed. She didn't know what it was about him, but whenever she was around Killian, he somehow made her forget about all the pain in her life. So, she poured everything she could into this kiss. This kiss was everything.

The second Emma's hands left his hair, he felt them moving around trying to go somewhere else. He opened his eyes to find she was trying to open the door to his room. He knew what that meant. And he also knew he had to be the one to put a halt to it. She was still dealing with her break up with Walsh to jump into bed with him.

"Emma. No," he said. He grabbed her hands to stop them from further exploring.

"Kil-."

"Henry is in the next room."

With eyes wide as could be, he saw as she realized what she had been ready to do with her son just a few feet away. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"Emma, you don't have to apologize for kissing me. It's all I've ever wanted since the moment I met you, but we both know if we did that, we'd only regret it in the morning I don't want you to have any regrets about us," he said.

He could stand there going back and forth with her about all the reason it would have been wrong, but he didn't want to. So, he quickly decided to tuck himself away for the night. "I'll see you in the morning for our meeting with everyone at Granny's," he said. He reached over and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Emma."

cs

The next day, Emma ignored him and handed him off to Belle instead. With Neal being back, they didn't have time to talk about what had happened the night before. Even as they saw each other at the hospital, she didn't meet his eyes which left him to believe that she was mad at him.

* * *

3x16 "It's Not Easy Being Green"

Killian doesn't know how they did it, but Neal's funeral was arranged for the day after his death. Once he saw how upset Emma was, he offered to help with Henry. It was the least he could do for his fallen friend. He had taken Henry out most of the day and kept him busy when Emma texted him that Zelena was making a move.

"Thanks, Killian," Henry said as he dropped him off outside their room. "Maybe we can go out on your boat again sometime."

"Anytime, lad," Killian said. This version of Henry hadn't known him his whole life, but Killian still felt a connection with him.

"Hey," Emma said. She hung around in the hall as Henry went inside their room.

"How did the queen fare against the witch?"

"She survived, but the rest is definitely more than a doorway conversation," she said. He nodded sensing she was right. "Thank you for taking him."

"There's more Bae in your boy than you realize. He needs to know about his father, Emma," he said.

"We both know I can't do that," she said.

As much as he hated it, she was right. Without his memories of his father or his time in Storybrooke, she couldn't tell Henry about his father without confusing him. So, he changed the subject slightly. "Are you still upset about the other night? I wasn't trying to reject you. All I've ever wanted was you, Swan. I just wa-."

She stopped him before he could continue any further. "It's okay, Killian," Emma said.

"It is?" he asked.

"Once this is all over, I'm taking Henry back to New York. If we had gone any further, it wouldn't be so easy to just turn my back and pretend this life doesn't exist," she said.

She was telling him he would make it harder for her to leave, but she was still telling him she was leaving. He wasn't sure how to feel. "Just like that?"

She ignored his question. "Thanks, again," she said before heading into her room.

* * *

3x17 "The Jolly Roger"

After his conversation with Emma about her leaving to New York, Killian didn't think he would be kissing her anytime soon. Now thanks to Zelena cursing his lips, he had to. She had threatened Emma's family, threatened Emma's son. It was because of that betrayal he knew was coming, he could not face her. Even when her family had invited him to eat with them, he knew he needed to get away.

So, he locked himself up in his room. Solitude was all he wanted right now.

He had been halfway asleep when he heard a set of knocks at his door. He didn't bother to put on a shirt knowing in his sleepy daze he would simply shoo the person away and crawl back into bed.

Emma was on the other side standing there with a bag in her hand held up mid air. "I brought you food back from Granny's," she said. Quickly her eyes took in his shirtless form.

He noticed as her cheeks blushed as she tried to force her eyes anywhere else other than his chest. It served her right. She thought she could just leave him behind and he would make it easy on her? As soon as he figured out how to defeat Zelena while protecting Emma's family and not taking away her powers, it was on. He was going to convince Emma to stay. He was going to make her fall in love with him. But he was also going to give her time to heal. He stood there in his muscular form showing her just what she was missing out on if she left to New York.

"You didn't have to do that," he said.

"I wouldn't have to if you had just joined us," she said. She handed him the food.

"Look, Swan, it's late and it's been a long day. I appreciate the food, I really do, but can we pick this up tomorrow?" he asked.

"Sure," she said. Just as he was closing the door she stopped him. "Killian, are you sure everything is okay?"

He wanted to tell her that nothing about anything was fine. He was in love with her, but she was determined to get as far away from him as possible. He wanted to kiss her, but his lips were cursed. He wanted to protect her family, but in order to do that, he would have to betray her.

Nothing was fine.

"Everything's fine," he said. He tried his best to conjure up a smile for her sake.

He didn't sleep that night. Nor did he think he would sleep until everything was okay again.

* * *

TBC

When season 6 starts airing, I'll be posting another fanfic. That story will be a re-write of season 4 and further, but it will not be from Killian's point of view nor will it follow the history of this story. So, while it's not quite a sequel to this story, if you want to get a private message whenever I do post that story, let me know!


	29. 3x18 - 3x20

Over 140 reviews. 110 favorites. 264 followers. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Way more angst in this chapter than I originally intended, but sometimes angst is good.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty Nine**

* * *

3x18 "Bleed Through"

Giving Emma Swan less attention made her want him more. She hated how needy she was coming off, but she could tell something was bothering him. He had barely looked her in the eyes at Regina's and even sitting alone at Granny's she felt his thoughts elsewhere.

She tried humoring him with her magic. That didn't work. She tried asking him what was on his mind, but then Belle had come in and put that conversation to a pause.

So, she took advantage of the fact that he was walking back with her to their rooms at Granny's. She had him all to herself without anyone around to distract him from finally telling her what was on his mind.

Emma had no idea that the second she opened her mouth to ask him what was going on, he was opening his mouth to make a confession of his own.

"Zelena cursed my lips," Killian said.

Out of all the possibilities she was generating in her mind as to why he was ignoring her, this had not been one of them. She thought he was trying to put some distance between them because he knew she was leaving soon. As much as she hated the idea of him pulling away from her, if that would have been the reason he was acting like that towards her, she would have accepted it.

No, this confession he had made to her, confused her.

"What?" Emma asked.

And so he started explaining to her what he meant. "If we kiss again, you'll lose your powers," he said.

She shook her head processing this new information. "How was she able to do that to you?" she asked.

He didn't want to tell her about how he thought she was Ariel. That would mean he would have to explain what happen with the mermaid. Not only did he not want her knowing that side of him, but he also knew they had more important things to worry about. "That doesn't matter. What does is that you should know she threatened your family if I didn't kiss you," Killian said.

"Is this why you've been acting so strange?" she asked.

"What can I say, Swan? I'm a strange person," he said.

She cracked a smile, but it was short lasting. Killian could make her laugh over and over again, it still wouldn't change the fact that her family's lives were in danger. "We have to get our memories back," she said. Then they would hopefully have a way to defeat the Wicked Witch. "Are you sure there's nothing from the last year you found out that could help us?"

"I told you, there was nothing for me there, so I left shortly after we arrived in the Enchanted Forrest," he said.

She knew the words he wasn't saying. "Did it really hurt that much that I wasn't there that you had to get away from my family?"

"Yeah, it did. Your parents were a reminder of you. I couldn't be around them without being reminded of what I had lost," he said.

"What are you going to do once we leave again?" she asked, afraid of what answer he would give her.

"I guess I'll just fall into a vortex of emptiness and rum," he said. He said it lightly, as if saying it as a joke, but they both knew how serious he really was.

"You can always come and visit," she said, not sure if that would make up for abandoning him.

"I could, but t-."

"Hey Killian," Henry said. He had been at the door of their room waiting for them to arrive. His presence put an end to the conversation.

"Hello, Henry. Did you have a good night, lad?"

"Not really. Mom made me stay in while you guys did whatever it is you do," he said. Right away both adults picked up on the teenager's annoyance.

"Your mom is just keeping you safe," Killian said coming to Emma's defense.

"Whatever. I was still bored."

* * *

3x19 "A Curious Thing"

Not only had they gotten Henry's memories back, but they all had gotten back their memories thanks to Regina and Henry's True Love Kiss.

The first thing Emma's son wanted to do was visit his father's grave. That didn't surprise Killian. Now that Henry remembered his father, all the things he knew about him changed. He was no longer saw him as the man who abandoned his mother and left her in jail. He was Neal, the man who had done everything he could to reunite with his family. Both Henry and Neal deserved this reality.

What surprised Killian was when Henry asked him to come along. He would have thought he wanted to do this on his own, but the young boy wanted him there. So, he sat on the bed of David's truck with Emma while Henry rode inside with his grandparents. When they got to the cemetery, he and Emma's parents gave the two of them space to have a moment alone at Neal's grave.

He had been ready to join them at the grave when Mary Margaret let out a loud gasp. The next royal was on their way.

* * *

3x20 "Kansas"

"You shouldn't have saved me," Killian said. They had just gotten back from defeating Zelena. Emma was standing at the door of her mother's hospital room watching as her mother held her baby brother.

She turned her attention to him. "You're my best friend. I wasn't going to let you die when I had a way to help you," Emma said.

"You risked everything for me."

"And I would do it again, no questions asked," she said. He had to know how much he meant to her. At least, that's what she thought, but just in case he didn't, she was going to tell him. "I couldn't just stand there and watch someone I love die."

Love. She said she loved him.

She doesn't mean it the way you think, you idiot, Killian thought to himself. He knew she cared about him, but he was convinced she could never love him the way he wanted her to.

He had to push himself away from this conversation about feelings before he pushed her against the nearest wall and finished what they started the other night. "Has your power returned now that Zelena's been defeated?" Killian asked.

She hadn't been ready for the change of subject. "No."  
"Sorry, love."

In her own way, she was pleading with him to give her a reason to stay. She didn't see his deflection of her confession for what it really was. He was guarding his own heart. Instead, she was starting to wonder if his feelings for her were beginning to change.

"It's okay. I won't need it in New York," she said once she realized he wasn't going to cave in and beg her to stay. It was better this way, she convinced herself. Going back to New York was safer for her son.

Great, another remind that you're leaving, he thought to himself.

"Hey kid! Want to meet your new uncle?"

cs

She didn't emerge from the room until 30 minutes later.

"Best friend, huh?" he asked teasing her about her earlier comment.

"Don't go bragging about it. I'm at a short supply of friends. You just happen to be at the top of the list," she said.

"Ouch," he said. He put his hand over his chest. "Stab me right in the heart, why don't you?"

She smiled at his joking attitude. "Thank you for helping us today," she said.

"I'm not sure how much help I actually was, but I'm always here to lend a hand," he said. He lifted up his hook. "And a hook."

I'm going to miss him, she thought. Without second guessing her next move, she pulled him in for a hug.

He had no idea why she was hugging him, but he wasn't going to deny himself this. He didn't know how much longer he had with her. Now that the Wicked Witch was defeated, she would be heading back to New York soon. He was going to take any moment he could get with her.

When they pulled apart and he looked into her eyes, he thought about asking her to stay. But he knew even if he stood there giving her a list of reasons to stay, she wouldn't. She had her son to think about.

So, instead, he said the only thing that came to mind. "Congrats on becoming a big sister, Swan."

* * *

TBC

One more chapter to go! Please let me know what you think. I would love to get to 150 reviews before I post the final chapter!


	30. 3x21 - 3x22

This is it! The final chapter! Thank you to everyone who has read and who will read later on! Writing this story and hearing your feedback has really lifted me up in a way I really needed!

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty**

* * *

3x21 "Snow Drifts"

She heard his heavy footsteps before she saw him.

Her father was calling her, but she wasn't in the mood to talk.

They were ganging up on her as a whole. Her parents hadn't asked her to stay, but she knew that is what they wanted. Regina, although given limited words, had made it clear she did not want Henry leaving. Even Henry had seemed skeptical about the idea of them going back.

That left Killian. Had it been his idea to come talk to her or had it been her parent, she didn't know.

"You're making a mistake," he said.

"I don't want to talk to you about this," Emma said.

"Don't listen to me. Listen to your son," he said. He pulled out the story book. "He thought this might remind you what you're leaving behind."

She went on trying to convince him that New York was home for her, but he wasn't having it.

"Why can't you do that here with your entire family?" he asked.

"Because of this," she said grabbing the book from his hand. Then she proceeded to tell him how she saw fairytales, how she never felt like she was a part of something until she was with Henry.

He sat there patiently on the bench as she spoke to him. As much as he wanted to keep telling her how much she should stay, he was giving her an opportunity to pour her heart out.

That was exactly what she did.

"Why are you here, Killian?" she asked. She was slightly changing the subject, but the place where she was taking the conversation was a place she needed to go. "I tried to get you to ask me to stay the other day."

"Emma, I'm here because I care about yo-," he said. He stopped when he caught on to the second half of her statement. "You tried to get me to ask you to stay? Why would you do that? How would I be able to convince you to stay?"

She answered his question with a question of her own. "Do you still have feelings for me, Killian?"

Her question threw him off. "What?"

"Because if you don't, I completely understand. Between the year apart and -."

"No time apart can take away my love for you, Swan," he said. When she said nothing, he gave her a more direct answer. "Of course, I still have feelings for you."

She couldn't help the instant smile that formed on her face. Nor could she stop herself from saying the next few words. "So, then move with me to New York," she said.

He wasn't expecting her to ask him about his feelings for her. He most definitely was not expecting her to tell him to move to New York with her.

His surprise was written all over his face. She was starting to have her doubts about what she had just asked him.

"Emma, I don-." From the corner of his eye, he saw a bright light shooting straight up into the sky.

"What is that?" she asked noticing it also.

The conversation would have to wait for now.

cs

There was a lot of things they were not saying. For example, she had basically asked him to move to New York with her, but they hadn't brought that up. However there was one thing that had just happened before his very eyes that he had to talk about.

"Why did you kiss me?" he asked.

They had gotten stuck in the past to a time where Snow White and Prince Charming should have just met, but of course they had messed it up. So, they were on a mission to fix their mistake. One part of that was distracting the past version of himself so that he, his current self, could convince Snow to steal the ring from Charming. What had not been a part of the plan was watching her suck face with his former self.

"Which time?" Emma asked. She was trying to be silly with him. She saw how jealous he had gotten to the point where he knocked himself out.

"You know which time, I'm talking about, Swan," he said. His tone gave off that same jealousy from before.

"I was supposed to distract him."

"Not that way," he said.

She saw how upset he was. So, now would be the perfect time to give him something to make him happy. "I was thinking about you the whole time," she said.

"I would hope so. I would hate to think you were thinking about someone else wh-." He didn't quite understand what she was saying.

She grabbed his arm. "I wanted it to be you," she said. This time, she made emphasis when she said you. "I didn't want to be kissing some version of you from the past. I wanted to be kissing you."

He understood what he was saying now, but it still didn't make him happy. "You don't get to tell me those kind of things when you're leaving!"  
"I asked you to come with me!" she yelled. There it was. The thing they had both been avoiding since she had said it. They were at the edge of the forrest waiting for Rumpelstiltskin. They should be worrying about making sure her parents met, but she was there yelling at him because no one frustrated her like he did. "What more do you need?"

"What do I need?" he asked. He was giving her a matching tone. "I need you to stop running away from who you truly are. I need you to be the woman I fell in love with."  
"And who was the woman you fell in love with?"

"She was the woman who walked into the diner, into a new town, and embraced it. You went up against Regina countless times, but even though it put you through uncomfortable times, you did it because your son needed you."

"I'm going back to New York to protect Henry," she said.

He shook his head. "Henry's the one who gave me the story book so maybe I could convince you to stay," he said. She wouldn't look him in the eyes, but he was staring straight at her. "You don't want to put yourself under the uncomfortable situation of fully embracing your family, fully embracing what we can be... I'm going to clue you in on that one, Emma. We can be great together. I wouldn't just be your lover, I would be your best friend. You wouldn't have to face a single difficult thing because I would be there."

He knew he didn't have to talk up about their situation. She had invited him to go with her to New York. There was a part of her that had accepted wanting him. So, he shifted the topic over to her family. For whatever reason, the version of them she had in her head wasn't enough to get her to stay. He was going to do his best to change that.

"Your family would be there too," he said. Her head turned when he changed the subject. She was watching him closely now. "You told me you never felt like you were a part of something before Henry."

She nodded listening to him.

"Well, picture this," he said. He used his hands to talk. "There's a time where our lives will become less crazy. The calm times are the ones I want you to think about. Think about sitting with your family around the table eating dinner. Thinking about watching your brother take his first steps. Think about your parents faces when they open the birthday gift we gave them." Even in the middle of trying to raise her parents up in her eyes, he was still going to involve himself and put that image of them as a couple in her mind. Couples gave gifts together. "Picture watching your baby brother grow up and wanting to have a baby of our own. We would run it by Henry first, of course, because we don't want him to feel like we are trying to replace him, but he would love having a sibling. Your parents would run at a chance to babysit their grandchild, of course. You'd be difficult to convince at first because you wouldn't want to be away from our baby, but you'd come around because you know your parents are amazing...You'd know that your family is amazing."

He paused just to let her soak in his words.

"If you want to keep running, I can't stop you, but I'm also not going to be there cheering you on in New York when I know you're walking away from a good life in Storybrooke," he said.

And just like that, he brought it all to the table. He would not be going back to New York with her. Or at least, that's what he made sure she thought. The truth was he would follow her wherever she went. He loved her too much to let her go when he knew she felt the same about him. His mean words were just his final attempt to get her to stay for her parent's sake.

His words were cutting straight into her heart because as much as she wanted to just turn away and keep Henry safe, she could see the life he had painted out for them. It was too much to take in all at once. "Maybe we should just focus on the mission."

"Maybe we should," he said. He took out his telescope to look out onto the castle. "A predictable excess of pomp and grandeur. Snow should have no trouble sneaking inside."

* * *

3x22 "There's No Place Like Home"

They were home. It had been a long journey, a part of it where he had been separated from Emma, but they were home. Most importantly, she was staying.

"Why are you out here by yourself?" she asked.

He hadn't gone inside of Granny's when they made their return, but instead sat outside alone drinking his rum. She joined him and sat in the chair next to his after a few minutes.

"I wanted to give you some time alone with your parents. You seemed in a rush to see them," he said.

She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I just had to see them after you kind of made them into the perfect pair in the hypothetical future you gave us," she said.

It didn't go unnoticed that she had said the future he had give them, instead of saying the future he had given her. They were an us to be spoken about. "They were already great parents, Swan. I just reminded you of it," Killian said.

"You're right. I have amazing parents and an amazing patient guy right in front of me who loves me," she said. She caught his quick smile at her words. "And who I love."

He took in a deep breath.

"I love you so much, Killian," she said. She scooted closer to him bringing her almost to the edge of her seat, but she didn't care. She knew he would prevent her from suffering any pain if she happened to fall just as he had made her fall in love with him and she knew he would not hurt her.

He couldn't stop himself. He had waited so long to hear those words come out of her mouth and for the perfect timing. Right now, he had both.

"I love you, Emma."

They met each other halfway, lips colliding with no hesitation. They were pouring in everything they had felt for each other the last few years into this kiss. They had shared many kisses over the time they have known each other, but this was one was the most important.

His chest was pounding with a rapid heartbeat reminding him how he had felt the first time he had met her. She had made him feel alive again for the first time in a long time. Now those feelings paled in comparison to as to how he felt now.

"Come on, let's go join the party," she said. She stood to her feet.

"Oh, Swan. We both know the real party is out here," he said. He stood along with her.

Her eyes rolled at him playfully. She brought him closer for one quick kiss before entering Granny's with him hand in hand.

* * *

 **THE END**


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